Open data about train disruptions

Rijden de Treinen collects all train disruptions since 2011 in the archive with train disruptions. Do you want to use this data for research purposes, a journalistic report, an innovative application or a study assignment? Then you can download this data for free as open data.

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Description of the data

When you use this dataset, it is important to realize that this data is about disruptions which have been communicated by NS. Not every train that is delayed or cancelled is communicated by NS as a disruption; the rule of thumb that NS uses is that a disruption is communicated when multiple trains are delayed or cancelled (i.e. a major impact of the train service).

It is also important to realize that since 2017, more disruptions have been communicated, because NS introduced a new system which allowed them to announce disruptions more timely (which resulted in more disruptions with a short duration). Comparing the number of disruptions from 2017 with the number of disruptions in the years before is therefore not possible (unless you account for the increase in short disruptions).

The source for the disruptions is always NS; the department for travel information at NS monitors the train service 24 hours a day to see if there are any disruptions. The disruption messages in the open data are the same as the messages on the boards at the station, the station PA and on the Rijden de Treinen website and app.

Columns

This dataset contains the following columns:

  • rdt_id
    Unique identifier
    This is the ID that Rijden de Treinen uses for a disruption. When you open a disruption in the disruption archive, you can find the ID in the URL of the disruption page. For example, the ID for this disruption between Amsterdam Zuid and Schiphol is 12345.
  • ns_lines
    Affected lines (from disruption message)
    These are the lines linked to a disruption by NS. For the disruption in the example, this is Schiphol-Almere C./Hilversum/Utrecht C.
  • rdt_lines
    Affected lines (linked by Rijden de Treinen)
    These are the lines linked to a disruption by Rijden de Treinen. This is always based on the list of lines of Rijden de Treinen, and the link is based on the stations where a disruption is located.

    In the example, the disruption is between Amsterdam Zuid and Schiphol. Rijden de Treinen then links the lines Amersfoort-Schiphol, Lelystad-Schiphol and Utrecht-Schiphol. The lines are always linked in alphabetical order, separated by a comma.
  • rdt_lines_id
    Line IDs of affected lines
    These are the IDs of the lines linked to a disruption by Rijden de Treinen, separated by a comma.
  • rdt_station_names
    Affected stations (linked by Rijden de Treinen)
    Based on the link with the lines, Rijden de Treinen also calculates which stations are affected by a disruption. In this column you can find the station names of the affected stations, separated by a comma.
  • rdt_station_codes
    Station codes of affected stations
    These are the codes (abbreviations) of the affected stations, separated by a comma. The station codes can be found in the dataset with railway stations.
  • cause_nl
    Disruption cause (in Dutch)
    This is the cause of a disruption, in Dutch. When the cause of a disruption is changed by NS during a disruption, the last used cause is shown in this column.
  • cause_en
    Disruption cause (in English)
    The disruption cause translated into English.
  • statistical_cause_nl
    Statistical disruption cause (in Dutch)
    For statistical purposes, Rijden de Treinen also keeps track of a statistical cause. When the cause of a disruptions is changed, information about the actual cause of a disruption is sometimes lost.

    For example, sometimes a disruption cause is changed to the generic an earlier disruption or repair works. When a more descriptive disruption cause is available, this cause is stored as the statistical cause.
  • statistical_cause_en
    Statistical disruption cause (in English)
    The statistical disruption cause, but then translated into English.
  • cause_group
    Disruption cause group
    The group in which the disruption is classified (in English). You can find the groups in the list with disruption causes.
  • start_time
    Start time
    The time when the disruption started.
  • end_time
    End time
    The time when the disruption ended.
  • duration_minutes
    Duration (in minutes)
    The duration of the disruption in minutes.

Downloads

The following datasets are available:

License and attribution

CC BY 4.0

This dataset is released under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. This means that you can use the data for any purpose, as long as you mention Rijden de Treinen as the source. If you have any questions about the data, please contact us.

The data is updated yearly. For media outlets and professional users, it's possible to get a more up-to-date version of this dataset or a custom selection. Please contact us for more information.

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