Netherlands Railway Station Categories
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There are currently 399 railway stations in the Netherlands including four which are used only during special events and one which serves the
National Railway Museum The National Railway Museum is a museum in York forming part of the Science Museum Group. The museum tells the story of rail transport in Britain and its impact on society. It is the home of the national collection of historically significant r ...
only.
NS Stations NS Stations () is a Dutch company that owns and manages over 400 railway stations in the Netherlands.Over NS S ...
is the body which manages and owns all railway stations in the Netherlands.


Categories

Stations are divided into two categories based upon the service they receive. These are, in order of decreasing importance: *
Intercity InterCity (commonly abbreviated ''IC'' on timetables and tickets) is the classification applied to certain long-distance passenger train services in Europe. Such trains (in contrast to regional, local, or commuter trains) generally call at m ...
stations, where usually all
train In rail transport, a train (from Old French , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles that run along a railway track and Passenger train, transport people or Rail freight transport, freight. Trains are typically pul ...
s (except, in some cases, international services) call. * The remaining stations, where only local trains (''Sprinters'') call. There are exceptions to this categorization. Some local trains – despite being called ''stoptreinen'' – do not stop at all stations: two examples are the services from Groningen to Roodeschool and from
Tiel Tiel () is a municipality and a town in the middle of the Netherlands. The town is enclosed by the Waal river and the Linge river to the South and the North, and the Amsterdam-Rhine Canal to the East. Tiel comprises the population centres Kapel- ...
to
Arnhem Arnhem ( or ; german: Arnheim; South Guelderish: ''Èrnem'') is a city and municipality situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands about 55 km south east of Utrecht. It is the capital of the province of Gelderland, located on both banks of ...
. On the route diagrams printed at the top of station departure sheets, intercity stations are indicated by the letters IC.
ProRail ProRail () is a Dutch government organisation responsible for the maintenance and extension of the national railway network infrastructure (not the metro or tram), the allocation of rail capacity, and controlling rail traffic. Prorail is a part o ...
classifies stations into five categories based upon the facilities available. The categories are (in English): ''Cathedral'', ''Mega'', ''Plus'', ''Basic'' and ''Stop''.


Naming conventions

Stations are generally named after the town they serve. In cases where a town is served by more than one station, additional designations specify the station's status or location, for example: *Centraal (abbreviated "CS"): "Central" – a town's most important station with more than 40,000 daily passengers. *Centrum: "Centre" – a town's most important station with, however, fewer than 40,000 daily passengers, and/or a centrally located station. *Zuid: "South" *Noord: "North" *Oost: "East" *West: "West" *A specific locality within the town, e.g.
Amsterdam Sloterdijk railway station Amsterdam Sloterdijk is a major railway junction to the west of Amsterdam Centraal station. It is at a rail-rail crossing, with an additional chord (Hemboog). It is on the railway line from Amsterdam Centraal to Haarlem and the last station before ...
. In the converse situation, where one station serves two communities, both community names are given, separated by a hyphen, e.g. Krommenie-Assendelft. As of 15 December 2019 eight stations are designated Centraal. They are: Amsterdam Centraal, Amersfoort Centraal, Arnhem Centraal, Den Haag Centraal, Eindhoven Centraal, Leiden Centraal, Rotterdam Centraal, and Utrecht Centraal.


List of stations, with their official abbreviations


Platforms and tracks

Not the platforms, but the tracks are numbered. In Dutch communication, NS refers to "spoor 1" ("track 1"), etc. while in English communication, NS refers to "platform 1" where "track 1" is meant (hence all island platforms have two numbers). Tracks without platform access, used for through traffic, also have a number. This number is not indicated, but it shows indirectly by the fact that in the numbering of the accessible tracks a number is skipped. Track numbers are usually increasing in the direction away from the centre of the city and hence away from the main entrance(s) of the station. A track along a long platform may have an "a" and a "b"-side, and sometimes three sections "a", "b" and "c". At many stations, above platforms and at their access points, there are dynamic displays (electronic displays) of the destination and departure time of the next train


Machines and counters for train tickets

For checking in and out with an OV-chipkaart card readers are at station entrances, halls and/or platforms. It can be recharged (increasing the credit by paying an amount) at
ticket machine A ticket machine, also known as a ticket vending machine (TVM), is a vending machine that produces paper or electronic tickets, or recharges a stored-value card or smart card or the user's mobile wallet, typically on a smartphone. For instance, ...
s. The anonymous variety of the card can also be purchased here. For some minor rail operators all this does not apply yet. Paper tickets are available from the same ticket machines; at the counter (if available) a supplement of €0.50 per ticket (with a maximum of €1 per occasion) has to be paid. In both cases one can choose a dated or undated ticket; the latter can be useful if one has not decided yet about the travel date. If the ticket is not dated it requires a stamp from a stamp machine on the travel date. With an
e-ticket An electronic ticket is a method of ticket entry, processing, and marketing for companies in the airline, railways and other transport and entertainment industries. Airline ticket E-tickets in the airline industry were devised in about 1994, and ...
bought in advance for a specific journey one can just get on the train without any further validation of the ticket.


NS Stations

NS Stations () is a Dutch company that manages and exploits all
railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...
s in the
Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
.Over NS Stations
NS Stations. Retrieved 5 January 2015.


Safety and comfort

Passenger comfort sometimes suffers from (homeless)
beggar Begging (also panhandling) is the practice of imploring others to grant a favor, often a gift of money, with little or no expectation of reciprocation. A person doing such is called a beggar or panhandler. Beggars may operate in public place ...
s or
pickpocket Pickpocketing is a form of larceny that involves the stealing of money or other valuables from the person or a victim's pocket without them noticing the theft at the time. It may involve considerable dexterity and a knack for misdirection. A th ...
s, especially in large cities. Measures taken to remedy this include installation of
CCTV Closed-circuit television (CCTV), also known as video surveillance, is the use of video cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place, on a limited set of monitors. It differs from broadcast television in that the signal is not openly t ...
, locking waiting rooms in the evening, and sometimes removal of benches from station halls. Also, a valid train ticket is required to access platforms, at many stations enforced by gates that require an OV-chipkaart to activate them. Passengers with large luggage should note that no luggage trolleys are provided (except at the station of
Schiphol airport Amsterdam Airport Schiphol , known informally as Schiphol Airport ( nl, Luchthaven Schiphol, ), is the main international airport of the Netherlands. It is located southwest of Amsterdam, in the municipality of Haarlemmermeer in the province ...
), although platforms are accessible by elevator.


Station abbreviations

The official abbreviations of names of stations are used internally by the NS, but also on handwritten tickets; they can also conveniently be used when entering a station in the NS planner and are needed in some URLs, see below. In a station it can be found in the lower right corner of the yellow departure schedules. In most URLs (see below) they have to be written in lowercase, in some a capital is optional. On the departure schedules they are written in lowercase. In other cases the abbreviations are written with a capital letter. Stations also have a four-digit code that is used on the keypad of older ticket machines to specify a destination.


History


See also

*
Amsterdam Metro The Amsterdam Metro ( nl, Amsterdamse metro) is a rapid transit system serving Amsterdam, Netherlands, and extending to the surrounding municipalities of Diemen and Ouder-Amstel. Until 2019 it also served the municipality of Amstelveen but thi ...
*
List of Rotterdam metro stations The following is the list of the 70 stations on the Rotterdam Metro system in Rotterdam, Netherlands. The Rotterdam Metro has five metro lines, lines A through E. Line E is also referred to by the brand name RandstadRail, although it is operated ...
*
List of busiest railway stations in the Netherlands Railway stations in the Netherlands There are currently 399 railway stations in the Netherlands including four which are used only during special events and one which serves the National Railway Museum only. NS Stations is the body which manages ...
*
Train routes in the Netherlands This list of train routes in the Netherlands focuses on the routes taken by trains travelling on railway lines in the Netherlands. A list including all stops on the train routes can be found at Dutch railway services. Train number series Bel ...
*
Trains in the Netherlands The following are current and former trains in the Netherlands. In use Diesel locomotives * 600 Class: Traditional shunter used in the Netherlands & UK. They are still used at Crailoo (between Bussum and Hilversum) by Railpro. * V60D: Ex Czec ...
*
Transport in the Netherlands The Netherlands is both a very densely populated and a highly developed country in which transport is a key factor of the economy. Correspondingly it has a very dense and modern infrastructure, facilitating transport with road, rail, air an ...


References


External links

* Station info: **http://www.ns.nl/reizigers/reisinformatie/stationsvoorzieningen Includes departure schedules and maps. For other stations, change "asd" in the URL or enter their name or code at the bottom of the page. The schedules are displayed on the stations in the same format, but in characteristic yellow (or blue in the case of temporary versions). The station abbreviation is shown in the lower right corner. * http://www.swopnet.com/waypoints/gps/netherlands5.xls - Excel file with stations, official abbreviations and coordinates. * http://www.amsterdamtips.com/tips/train-network-map-amsterdam.php - map of stations in and around Amsterdam * http://www.prisman.nl/rvm/pic/rvm415.gif (map of rail network nodes) and http://www.prisman.nl/rvm/B041.htm (list of nodes with adjacent nodes) * Demo of the
ticket machine A ticket machine, also known as a ticket vending machine (TVM), is a vending machine that produces paper or electronic tickets, or recharges a stored-value card or smart card or the user's mobile wallet, typically on a smartphone. For instance, ...
s installed at every station: http://www.ns.nl/kaartautomaatdemo/


Photos


Stationsweb
photos and info (in Dutch but easy in use) on current and old stations

photos and info on current stations and Dutch trains

The European Railway Server, section on Dutch stations (photos)


Maps

* Schematic maps of all tracks,
switches In electrical engineering, a switch is an electrical component that can disconnect or connect the conducting path in an electrical circuit, interrupting the electric current or diverting it from one conductor to another. The most common type of ...
and platforms: http://www.sporenplan.nl/html_nl/sporenplan/ns/ns_normaal/start.html *Zoomable map of all tracks and stations, updated for 2009: http://www.trein-kaart.nl/ * http://www.ns.nl/ : ** railway map with all stations: search for ''spoorkaart'' ** maps of station surroundings and station lay-out of some stations: select Nederland - Reisinformatie - Stationsvoorzieningen {{Railway stations in Europe
Railway stations A train station, railway station, railroad station or depot is a railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passengers, freight or both. It generally consists of at least one platform, one track and a station building providing such ...
Railway stations in the Netherlands by province