Dutch rail operator NS has sold 270,000 subscriptions for its temporary €49 summer train ticket in the first month since launch.
The Nederland Dal Vrij pass allows unlimited travel on all trains across the Netherlands during off-peak hours and on weekends.
NS opened sales on June 15, with purchases available only until the end of July.
Anyone who buys in time can use the pass through August 31.
Heavy early demand
The NS website crashed on launch day as thousands of people tried to subscribe at the same time.
Roughly 20,000 tickets sold within the first few hours.
One month later the total reached 270,000.
Subscribers have already covered 120 million kilometers on the pass.
New train users
More than 30 percent of those who signed up, over 80,000 people, had no earlier NS subscription.
The company notes that this group includes many who previously took the train rarely or not at all.
The summer deal is a temporary price cut on the regular NS Flex Dal Vrij product, which normally costs 127.95 euros a month.
Relief package roots
The lower rate came from a one-billion-euro crisis relief package approved by the Dutch government.
That package was meant to ease cost-of-living pressure linked to higher prices from the war in the Middle East.
Subscribers who do not cancel will automatically renew at the full standard rate after August.
NS will send email reminders so people can end the subscription in time on the company website if they choose not to continue.
For people in Amsterdam the pass covers outbound NS journeys and other Dutch rail services during the permitted hours for the rest of the summer.
