Passenger Transport via rail

What does the survey comprise

Purpose

To determine the number of passengers and the number of passenger-kilometers traveled on the Dutch rail network, by both domestic and foreign rail operators.

Target population

The target population consists of all passenger rail transport companies operating in the Netherlands. The population of journeys that these rail operators are required to provide encompasses all passenger journeys for which either the origin station or the destination station is located within the Netherlands.

Statistical unit

Passengers and passenger-kilometers.

Date/year survey started

2024.

Frequency

Quarterly: number of passengers and passenger-kilometers.
Annually: number of passengers and passenger-kilometers, broken down by national and international journeys.

Publication strategy

The quarterly figures are published as preliminary data no later than 3 months after the end of the corresponding quarter. The annual figures are published as preliminary data no later than 8 months after the end of the corresponding year.

How is the survey conducted

Survey type

Data are collected from the full population of passenger rail transport companies operating in the Netherlands.

Survey method

Data on the number of journeys in the Netherlands and the related distance are provided by rail operators to Statistics Netherlands (CBS). This is done either by directly submitting the data or by granting the CBS access to the required data via Translink. The data include sales information on journeys and check-in/check-out information from travel products such as the OV-chipkaart or bank card.

Respondents

Companies that transport passengers by rail in the Netherlands. These include both national and international rail operators. Part of the data is provided by Translink.

Sample size

Not applicable

Checking and correction methods

Data are checked for consistency and plausibility. Missing values are imputed.

Weighting

Not applicable

Quality of the results

Accuracy

Throughout the process of compiling rail passenger transport statistics, there are several steps where inaccuracies may occur. For example, data based on check-in and check-out information (e.g., from the OV-chipkaart) may be incomplete because the traveler forgot to check in or check out. This results in the need to impute the origin or destination of the journey. Furthermore, for some rail operators and certain travel products, it is not possible to determine the exact origin or destination. In such cases, only origin and/or destination at the provincial level is available. For some international journeys, the border crossing used is manually determined, which is necessary to calculate the number of kilometers traveled in the Netherlands. It is also possible that not all data are available at the time of publication. In that case, an estimate is made for the missing data. This can also lead to inaccuracies. Where possible, these missing data are added at a later stage, and the relevant figures are revised accordingly.

Sequential comparability

The figures can be compared year-on-year and quarter-on-quarter.

Quality strategy

A great deal of time and effort is invested in collecting as much data as possible, which reduces the need for imputation and estimation. Furthermore additional sources are used to improve the quality of the imputations.