The Netherlands Railway System: NS asks travellers in the Netherlands to register their train journeys to limit crowds

Using Treinwijzer, a new feature on the Dutch Railways (Nederlandse Spoorwegen, NS) app, the railway company is asking all travellers to register their planned journeys in advance, so they can more easily track busyness and limit crowds.

According to the rail company, this new system is designed to help NS travellers plan their journeys, keeping in mind the realities of the ongoing coronavirus crisis and helping them to avoid busy services. In a press release, they say: “Travellers can... gain more insight into the expected crowds in the train and receive an alert if their train seems to be getting busier or is cancelled.”

NS also hopes that this new system will reassure people across the Netherlands that they can indeed travel safely by train: “We know from research that there are now travellers who choose a different mode of transport for fear of crowds, although travelling by train can be done safely and comfortably" The Treinwijzer function in the NS app is available from Wednesday, November 11, and NS are encouraging all train travellers to make use of it as much as possible - but they do note that registering your trip is not mandatory, merely recommended.

Read more at: NS asks travellers in the Netherlands to register their train journeys to limit crowds

European Railways: Coming soon: Amsterdam to Berlin in four hours on the train

NS and ProRail are committed to cutting down travel time between Amsterdam and Berlin to just four hours, and they have the support of the government behind them. This week, members of NS, ProRail and the government will travel to Germany to put the wheels in motion, so to speak, and make such a journey possible in a few years.

In addition to talks in Germany, NS is planning on ordering 12 new locomotives, which will be able to travel on tracks in both the Netherlands and Germany. This saves time, as locomotives will no longer have to be changed at the border.

According to ProRail chief executive Pier Eringa, NS, ProRail, KLM and Schiphol all agree that taking the train is a good alternative to flying. Eringa also states that both travelling modes should be seen as complementary to one another, not competing, and that the train should be taken, when possible, instead of a flight.

These four previously mentioned companies want to put trains in a stronger position when it comes to short distance travel. Of course, for trains to be seen as an alternative to a short distance flight, the price will need to be more competitive.

Read more: Coming soon: Amsterdam to Berlin in four hours on the train

The Netherlands: Electronic "OV-Chipkaart" for public transportation ticketing not 'user friendly' and an anti-dote for tourists

Almere Muziekwijk station (photo EU-Digest)

The recently launched "OV-Chipkaard "in the Netherlands for people who want to use the Dutch Public Transportation system is turning out to be not  very user friendly and certainly costly for visiting tourists.

The problems become even more complicated when one wants to make use of the special 40% discount on train travel outside of morning rush hours.

This card has to be activated to be used as an OV-chipkaart. To do so you must make an account at the OV-chipkaart website. The sentence 'activating the card'  means 'buying a product in the webshop'. You 'buy' the product called 'activate my chipcard'.

But then the card is still not active. You have to 'collect your product' at a ticketing machine or service desk.

 The result is that many elderly people no longer travel on buses, trains or trams, as they find, buying and charging an anonymous card too complicated.

We're talking about a user group of travelers who are not very computer literate, and we're asking them to virtually transfer money from their account to a card, where some are not even used to making a withdrawal at an ATM machine with a  debit card.

One can expect that very few of this group which is continuously growing larger will be activating their personalized "OV-chipkaart,  if the system and the activating process remains as complicated and unfriendly as it is today.

What one can describe in politically correct terms is to make it possible that 'technology averse' people or tourists should be able to simply go to a 24 hr. service desk and get help to activate their card.

Especially also for those people for whom public transport is their only way of getting around.

As it stands now, the Dutch OV-Chipkaart is not user friendly and certainly too costly and complicated for local users and tourists

It is high-time something gets done by the Netherlands Ministry of  Transportation about this "OV-Chipkaart" disaster. 

EU-Digest