MADE Student Project

Rail transport is essential to lower the number of emissions caused by cars. The increase in the number of train commuters in the last few years increases the pressure on the rail network. The operators of the services have to adapt and become more efficient to avoid delays and crowded trains.

In 2021, 5,6% of the trains in the Netherlands had more than 15 minutes of delay or were cancelled. This might seem like a low percentage but, when considering a volume of 1.1 million commuters per day, it means an average of 56000 delayed passengers every day.

With thousands of disruption reports per year, it’s a challenging task for the NS and its associates to handle the information and direct the investments on maintenance to the areas that need it the most. That’s why visualising and summarising the data can be useful in decision-making.

The first graphics show details about the cause and time of disruptions. The last visualization explores the strategy used by the NS to distribute stations and serve as much population as possible.

 

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Main cause of disruption per connection in 2021

 

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Average time of disuption per connection in 2021

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Changes in the disruption causes in the last 10 years

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Disruptions with unknown causes in the last 10 years

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Share of disruptions in 2021 by detailed cause

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Distributions of train stations compared to population density per district 

 

The dataset about disruptions in rail services in the Netherlands between 2011 and 2021 was found on the website of Rijden de Treinen, which collects information published by the NS. The graphs were made using Python, GIS software and Blender.

Author: Matias Cardoso

Afbeelding credits

Icon afbeelding: IMG6.jpg

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