NS - 'Strike at ProRail, disruption greater than just strike area'. But why?

Title and all quotes translated from Dutch to English by Google Translate, minor edits for readability made by me.

As ProRail employees are on strike in different regions of the Netherlands this and next week. Even though these strikes are bound to various ProRail control centers, they affect traffic much broader than their region. Since NS runs a lot of 'long lines' across the country which may cross strike affected areas. NS has even started using new digital signage earlier this year to help passengers navigate these long routes. Tim van Leeuwen, Director of Operations Control at NS, explains why these long lines are needed:

[Long line services] are a direct consequence of how our small country is structured. In contrast to other countries, the Netherlands does not have one dominant urban area where employment and education are concentrated. Think of Paris in France, for example. Everyone has to go there in the morning and leave again in the evening. The French railways (SNCF) therefore base their timetable on this.

What you sometimes hear is true: the Netherlands is more of a large city than a small country. Not all residents of Den Bosch work in Rotterdam and not all residents of Groningen want to go to Amsterdam. You could actually say that everyone in the Netherlands has to go everywhere. And that is what NS is setting up its network with long lines for.

A major advantage is that NS is making optimum use of both the infrastructure and the train equipment. Due to the long lines, few trains have to turn around in Utrecht and that saves platform capacity and therefore space at Utrecht Central, a place in the middle of the city where space is limited. It also ensures that 80 percent of our passengers do not have to change trains.