NETHERLANDS: National passenger operator NS suspended all services on April 3 following problems with its resource allocation and operations planning software. Admitting that this was ‘extremely unpleasant news’ for passengers, NS explained that the total suspension of services would allow it to reposition rolling stock ready for a resumption of normal operations the following morning. According to NS, the IT failure at the end of the morning had affected ‘the system that generates up-to-date schedules for trains and staff’, which it insisted was ‘important for safe and scheduled operations’.