NS is based in the Netherlands and has a single, Dutch shareholder, the Dutch State. In this annual report, which was published on 27 February 2020, we primarily render account to our Dutch stakeholders for our potential social impact in the Netherlands. Even so, we also report on our international operations and have included a separate chapter for that purpose. NS focuses on passengers and on enabling them to enjoy a comfortable door-to-door journey. To that end, NS's main priority is to improve operational performance on the railways, supported by the provision of, for instance, bicycle facilities and station services and by optimised door-to-door journeys thanks to public transport bicycles and collaboration with other partners in the public transport sector and elsewhere. In addition, we aim to remain financially healthy so as to be able to continue investing in services to meet the growing mobility needs in the Netherlands, fuelled by the strong growth in passenger numbers, and to keep train fares affordable. Indeed, this is what our stakeholders expect from us. They also want to see accountability for our non-financial results.
In order to offer passengers the best possible service at the right price, we are also accumulating experience abroad. We monitor the extent to which our results in the United Kingdom and Germany add value for passengers in the Netherlands, in terms of cross-border travel, for example. Our international activities have to benefit the interests of our stakeholders in the Netherlands. Indeed, according to those stakeholders our activities elsewhere in Europe are a materially relevant theme. That is why we have included Abellio’s results outside the Netherlands as a separate chapter; this is also because of the material relevance of our activities in the United Kingdom and Germany for NS as a whole. Abellio has little influence on the content of the franchise agreements, as these are determined by the franchise authorities in a public tender procedure. This is why there is less reporting on non-financial performance indicators.
In addition to the financial statements and the combined auditor’s report, the NS Annual Report for 2019 contains other information, comprising:
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the Report by the NS Executive Board, including: 2019 in a nutshell, Our contributions to Dutch society, Foreword by the CEO, Our strategy, The profile of NS, Our activities and achievments in the Netherlands, Our activities and achievments abroad, Looking ahead and the following sections under NS Group: Corporate governance, Risk management, NS and taxes, Organisational improvements, Statement by the Executive Board, Dialogue with our stakeholders and Scope and reporting criteria;
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the Report of the Supervisory Board;
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other information, in accordance with Title 9 of Book 2 of the Dutch Civil Code.
This annual report is subdivided into three blocks:
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a core report comprising Our contributions to Dutch society, Foreword by the CEO, Our strategy, The profile of NS, Our activities and achievments in the Netherlands, Our activities and achievments abroad and Looking ahead.
For the operational results, the core of the report consists of the results that we have achieved within the franchise agreements with the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management for the Dutch main rail network; -
a section with other information including Corporate governance, Risk management, NS and taxes, Organisational improvements and Dialogue with our stakeholders;
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Financial statements.