The first public railway in the Netherlands was opened on 20th September, 1839, between Amsterdam (d'Eenhonderd Roe) and Haarlem, a distance of about 19km. It was built to the unusual broad gauge of 1945mm. The line was extnded in stages to Rotterdam, which it reached in 1847. Another company opened a line using the same broad gauge from Amsterdam to Utecht in 1843, extending to Arnhem in 1845. However, the latter line wa converted to standard (1435mm) gauge in the 1850s to facilitate through running with the German railway network via Emmerich. The original Oude Lijn (Old Line) from Amsterdam to Rotterdam was converted to standard gauge in 1866.
In 1860 plans were put in place for a comprehensive national network, which would be built to standard gauge. The State railway company began operations in 1863. By the end of the First World War, it had taken responsibility for operation of most of the main line railways, until in 1938 they were merged to form a new State-owned company: Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS).
Under EU regulations, train operation and infrastructure costs must be separately accountable. the Netherlands, like many other European countries, has chosen to implement this by spinning off a separate infrastructure company (ProRail).
The Netherlands has a convenient zonal ticketing system covering all forms of public transport (train, metro, tram, bus, and the so-called "train taxis"). This is similar to schemes operating in major conurbations elsewhere, but is perhaps unique in covering the whole country.