The Institute for Human Rights has ruled on whether or not to offer toilets on the trains of Arriva, Connexxion and Hermes (Breng). The Commission has determined that transport providers have not been legally discriminated against and that it is not mandatory to offer toilets on their trains.
The Commission has reached this position because it believes that the installation of toilets would lead to a disproportionate financial burden for the relevant transport providers. However, the Municipal Executive of the province of Gelderland, the grantor, made the recommendation to include the presence of toilets in trains as a requirement in a subsequent tender.
“It is important that everyone can travel comfortably by train. That is why I have made agreements with NS, for which I am a franchisor, about toilets in trains. The decentralized authorities, as the grantor of concessions, have the responsibility to implement their regional transport concession themselves. In a number of existing regional concessions (slightly more than 50%), a toilet on the train is also included as an obligation ”, Stientje van Veldhoven - Van der Meer wrote in a letter to the Chamber.
Considerations of local authorities.
Whether or not to offer toilets in regional trains is an independent consideration made by the Provincial Executive through the Program of Requirements, which they then submit to the Provincial Council. Many aspects play a role in this consideration: for example, whether toilets are already available at stations, how long the average travel time is and what the costs are for toilets in (new) trains.
Most trains without toilets run in the east of the country. The province of Gelderland has indicated that work is currently being carried out on a Memorandum of Principles for the railways in Overijssel and Gelderland. This determines what the requirements will be for the next round of tenders.
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