Het Spoorwegmuseum or The Railway Museum in Utrecht is scrapping its entire theatre programme and cutting ten jobs as part of a major restructuring aimed at preventing bankruptcy. The decision, announced during a staff meeting, marks a significant shift in the museum’s strategy after years of mounting financial pressure.

All theatrical performances will end by 1 March 2026, with actors declared redundant and entertainment acts, most notably the long-running Orient Express-themed shows in the Steam Theatre, discontinued after roughly two decades. 

Several shows had already been cancelled in recent days due to internal organisational issues, and visitors were not informed in advance, despite performance times still being listed on the museum’s website.

Struggling

The museum has struggled financially for years, with rising costs, stagnant income, and a growing backlog of maintenance expenses weighing heavily on its budget. Despite attracting around 495,000 visitors in 2023, the operating deficit has continued to grow, forcing management to take drastic measures.

To stabilise the organisation and avoid insolvency, the museum plans to refocus on its core mission as a museum, with education and the preservation of its collection becoming key priorities. By scaling back events, attractions, and theatrical productions, the institution hopes to qualify for additional subsidies and funding streams that are available only for strictly museological activities.

As part of the restructuring, ten positions will be eliminated, while seventeen new roles will be created in the redesigned organisation. Discussions are ongoing about whether the affected employees can transition into these new positions. 

More than one hundred other staff members will retain their jobs but are expected to receive revised job descriptions and responsibilities.

Trade union

Trade union FNV has approved a social plan detailing how the consequences of the reorganisation will be managed and how affected employees will be supported. 

The plan includes enhanced redundancy payments above the statutory minimum, reimbursement for legal advice, and access to a training budget. It also allows former employees to return within six months if suitable positions become available, including those who leave under a settlement agreement. 

The plan applies to permanent staff affected by the restructuring and runs until the end of 2026, excluding temporary workers, on-call staff, and interns.

Friends

The museum’s management has declined to comment publicly, stating that it wants to speak with staff first. The restructuring follows earlier announcements that the internal organisational structure would be overhauled and that cooperation with the Friends of the Railway Museum association would end from 2027, with management warning at the time that core tasks such as education, maintenance, and fundraising were under increasing pressure.

The Spoorwegmuseum acknowledges that the reorganisation will have a significant impact on staff but says the measures are necessary to make the institution financially sustainable and secure its future as a national museum dedicated to railway heritage.

Railway and transport museums 

• REVIEW | ‘Belgian Railways Under Occupation: Between Collaboration and Resistance’ at Train World in Brussels.
• REVIEW | Conservatoire National de Véhicules Historiques & Musée d’Histoire de la Brasserie de Diekirch car and beer museums in Diekirch, Luxembourg.
• A visit of the Flemish Tram and Bus Museum – Vlaams Tram- en Autobusmuseum (VlaTAM) in Antwerp.
• MONTREAL | Exporail – Canadian Railway Museum in Saint-Constant.
• REVIEW | Motion and emotion at the London Transport Museum.
• BAVARIA | Lokwelt – Locomotive World in Freilassing .
• REVIEW | Orient-Express exhibition at Train World, Brussels’ railway museum.
• REVIEW | Train World exhibition ‘From Peking to Hankow: a Belgian adventure in China’.
• PHOTOS | Train World railway museum in Brussels.
• Railway and transport museums (not) to visit.
• Nuremberg Transport Museum / DB Museum. 
• Slovenian Railway Museum in Ljubljana. 
• VIDEO | Mail Rail and The Postal Museum in London. 
• Plans for a steam train heritage service between Brussels and Mechelen shelved.
• PHOTOS | Museo del Ferrocarril de Madrid Delicias railway museum.
• VIDEO | Museu del Ferrocarril de Catalunya – Catalonia Railway Museum in Vilanova.
• REVIEW | Romanian Railway Museum ‘Muzeul CFR’ and Bucharest.
• PHOTOS | UK’s National Railway Museum (NRM) in York.
• PHOTOS | Swiss Museum of Transport Verkehrshaus in Lucerne.
• PHOTOS | Het Spoorwegmuseum – Dutch Railway Museum in Utrecht.
• VIDEO | Return to Spoorwegmuseum Utrecht for the dining car exhibition ‘Tosti’s, truffels, treinen’.
• VIDEO | Stoomtram Hoorn – Medemblik steamtram light rail in Holland.
• Visiting Odense and the Danish Railway Museum.
• Deutsches Museum’s Verkehrszentrum or Transport Centre in Munich.