Erwing Abbink

By 2006, the volume of traffic on the Dutch passenger railway network had increased significantly; more and larger trains had been scheduled without changing the structure of the timetable, thus overloading the system and causing consumer nightmares. Operations researchers working with Netherlands Railways constructed an improved timetable. As a result, the percentage
of trains arriving within three minutes of the scheduled time increased, commuter satisfaction improved, and the number of passengers grew. In 2007, this resulted in an additional annual profit of €40 million (approximately $60 million).