Maatschappij tot Exploitatie van Staatsspoorwegen

The Dutch State Railways ( Maatschappij tot Explotatie van Staatsspoorwegen, abbreviation SS ) was established on 26 September 1863 in The Hague, to operate the railway lines, which were built by the Dutch government.

The Dutch State Railways opened up especially the northern and southern provinces of the Netherlands, which until then had no rail link, with railway lines that were built and operated at the expense of the exchequer. On October 27, 1863, the first railway line was opened from Harlingen to Leeuwarden, which was extended to Groningen on June 1, 1866. From 1865 onwards, the route from Arnhem Deventer went into operation, which was extended in 1870 to Groningen. On November 21, 1865, the State Railway opened its first railway line in the south between Maastricht and Venlo. This southern main line was extended in 1866 to Breda and Moerdijk. Also opened in 1868, the line between Vlissingen and Roosendaal belonged to the network of the Dutch State Railways. The distance between Utrecht and Boxtel, which opened on November 1, 1869, completed the southern route network of the Dutch State Railways.

In 1917, the Dutch State Railway was formed with the Dutch railway company, a joint operating company set up to the January 1, 1938 NV Nederlandse Spoorwegen merged.