'Netherlands Railroads Real Estate Sales Are ‘Sensible’'

Dirk Brounen, Professor of Real Estate at TIAS/Tilburg University, describes the intention of the NS to divest parts of its real estate as “very sensible.” He said this in interviews taken by BNR Newsradio and the Financieel Dagblad (FD - financial daily newspaper).

Image: © Nationale Beeldbank

On Friday, February 13, NS CEO Timo Huges expressed his intention in the FD. He also said that he wants to let the market play a bigger role in providing non-transport related services at stations. He appealed to real estate developers, retailers and other transportation companies to come and talk to him about the station of the future. "The station is for everyone,” says Huges. He sees stations as “economic breeding grounds” and wants to focus more on this idea over the coming years.

With its 4,800 hectares of land, the NS has always been one of the largest real estate owners in the Netherlands. This real estate includes many unprofitable assets, such as abandoned classification yards and disused railroad sites, which the administrator of NS real estate decided to divest years ago.

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Hoogleraar verwelkomt afstoten vastgoed door NS, FD (2015)
Interview Dirk Brounen, BNR (2015)