News

There is good news for travellers with a visual impairment who would like to use the 1 Stap Verder service. This service has now been expanded from five to 27 major stations.

How does the 1 Stap Verder service work?

The travel assistant provides guidance to passengers who are boarding, disembarking or transferring between trains. When you make use of the 1 Stap Verder service on your outward journey, NS travel assistance will guide you to the next form of public transport. The travel assistant will guide you to the correct bus, tram or metro stop, the official taxi row, or the pick-up and drop-off lane at the station. You can request both travel assistance and the 1 Stap Verder service free of charge, from the first to the last train. You can request the 1 Stap Verder service by calling NS Customer Service on +31 (0)30 23 57 822.

The expansion of the number of stations offering this service has been accomplished in collaboration with the Oogvereniging (Eye Association Netherlands).

The 1 Stap Verder service has been available from the following stations since 5 January 2024:

• Almere Centrum
• Amersfoort Centraal
• Amsterdam Amstel
• Amsterdam Bijlmer Arena
• Amsterdam Centraal
• Amsterdam Sloterdijk
• Amsterdam Zuid
• Arnhem Centraal
• Breda
• Delft
• Den Haag Centraal
• Den Haag HS
• Deventer
• Eindhoven
• Enschede
• Groningen
• Haarlem
• Leeuwarden
• Leiden Centraal
• Maastricht
• Nijmegen
• Rotterdam Centraal
• 's Hertogenbosch
• Schiphol Airport
• Utrecht Centraal
• Zaandam
• Zwolle

14 December 2023

Travelling by train can be nerve-wrecking for people with a mild intellectual disability, who often have questions like: Where can I buy a ticket, what platform should I be on, and where can I find help? Because NS wants everyone to feel welcome in its trains, it has developed the 'TreinTrainPakket'.

This special kit was developed for and in collaboration with people with a mild intellectual disability. A handful of tools and a little training can often help them travel by train virtually independently. NS has five packages available that were in continuous use at institutions for people with mild intellectual disabilities and schools for Secondary Special Education during 2023. This package contains resources for practising travelling by train: an explanation and practice module, a VR game, and a journey experience.

The package can also be used in 2024. If you work for an institution that works with people with mild intellectual disabilities or at a Special Education school and are interested in the kit, please contact us for more information by sending an e-mail to programma.toegankelijkheid@ns.nl.

6 December 2023

Starting from 10 December, almost all stations at which NS operates will equipped to offer travel assistance. This is a significant milestone for people with a disability, and it's a great step forward towards achieving the NS goal of implementing equitable travel opportunities for all. Independent travel where possible, with a little help when necessary.

In recent years and on an annual basis, NS has significantly expanded the number of stations offering travel assistance. This expansion is part of a broader strategy aimed at continually enhancing the accessibility of train travel. As part of this approach, ProRail equips stations with elevators and ramps, and adjusts platforms to the correct height. All sprinters and the latest NS intercity trains are accessible for everyone, and the number of these trains will continue to increase in the coming years. This will make it possible for customers with a disability to board and disembark independently more often. Where this is not yet possible, or for passengers who require help with boarding or disembarking or moving around the station, NS now provides travel assistance at 241 stations. This travel assistance is available on all trains, from the first to the very last. Travellers can request travel assistance free of charge up to one hour prior to their journey through the NS app, the ns.nl website, or by telephone.

Roos Prommenschenckel (from the Roos Prommenschenckel Foundation) comments: ‘When I won the first Mis(s) election for women with physical disabilities in 2006, I expressed my wish for accessible public transport. My desire was for the freedom to move around and therefore really participate in society. At the time, assistance was available at only 37% of NS stations. I am so grateful and proud that it is now possible to request assistance at virtually 100% of the stations where NS operates, and to be able to travel as a result.  

NS operates at a total of 247 of the more than 400 stations in the Netherlands. Of these, 241 will soon offer travel assistance. There is no elevator or ramp at four stations (Blerick, Eindhoven Strijp-S, Wolfheze en Arnhem Presikhaaf): starting from 10 December, assistance will only be available for passengers who do not require extra aids, such as a ramp. This will primarily be passengers with a visual impairment. Full travel assistance will be available there once ProRail has installed an elevator or ramp. The platform at Bovenkarspel-Grootebroek and Hoogkarspel station is too narrow to enable the use of a special bridge as an aid. This means that assistance is only available for those travellers who do not need a bridge.

This year, ProRail has adjusted the platforms at a number of stations to enable step-free boarding. ProRail also installed elevators at Dordrecht Zuid and Den Haag HS stations, and a ramp at Veenendaal West station.

Together with ProRail and advocacy groups such as the Roos Prommenschenckel Foundation, Ieder(in), Coalitie voor Inclusie and the Oogvereniging, NS continues to work hard on implementing accessible and reliable rail travel.

9 December 2022

Starting from 8 January 2023, ProRail will be replacing the elevators at Schiphol Airport Station to ensure their continued reliability.

The new elevators will be operational from early April 2023. More information about the new elevators can be found here: Elevators and stairs at Schiphol Airport Station to be replaced | ProRail

Travelling to or from Schiphol Airport and need an elevator? Please do not hesitate to contact NS Customer Service. They'll help you find an appropriate solution.

9 December 2022

Starting from 11 December, more stations will be getting NS Travel Assistance.

The 27 new stations are: Abcoude, Almelo de Riet, Almere Poort, Apeldoorn Osseveld, Arnhem Velperpoort, Borne, Bovenkarspel Grootebroek*, Den Haag Moerwijk, Elst, Haren, Heemskerk, Hollandse Rading, Hoogkarspel*, Den Haag Mariahoeve, Leiden De Vink, Maarn, Maarssen, Nijmegen Goffert, Oisterwijk, Oosterbeek, Rotterdam Zuid, Santpoort Noord, Soest, Utrecht Leidsche Rijn, Utrecht Lunetten, Wierden, Zaltbommel.

* because of the limited space available on the platforms, we cannot offer ramp-based assistance at the stations. Unfortunately, wheelchair or mobility scooter users cannot board or get off the train at these stations.

For more information on what you can do to travel independently and/or with NS Travel Assistance, visit our page on how to get ready for travelling before you leave home.

25 July 2022

If you're dependent on an elevator, it's important to know whether the elevator at your station is working properly.
You can now find a list of elevators that are out of order for more than 1 week in the travel planner on ns.nl or in the NS app. This information is updated every week, so the list might not be perfectly up to date.

Here's how to find the info:

• Plan your journey using the Travel Planner
• Click on the station name
• Click on facilities/station information
• If the elevator is unavailable, you will see 'Elevator temporarily out of service' (see image). 

What can you do if the elevator is out of service?

Then please call NS Customer Service. NS Customer Service will then work with you to find the best solution. If NS Customer Service decides that taking a Taxi is your best option, you won't have to pay for it. 

22 December 2021

NS is committed to making train travel accessible to all. That is why NS wants to keep improving its services and information for people who are hard of hearing. In late 2020, NS commissioned MarketRespons to perform a survey and get feedback from the hard of hearing in order to find out how they experience contact with the NS Customer Service*. Naturally, NS also wanted to uncover new ways to improve its services for the hard of hearing. NS is proud to announce that more than 250 people took part in the survey.

*NS Customer Service refers to the department that responds to questions, suggestions and complaints via X (formerly Twitter), Chat, Facebook or by phone.

The survey revealed that many respondents were already very satisfied with the current options for reaching out to NS Customer Service, while also highlighting several areas for improvement. Respondents indicated that Customer Service officers occasionally speak too fast or not clearly enough, making them hard to understand for people with a hearing impairment. The survey also showed that while many respondents appreciated being able to reach out to Customer Service via X (formerly Twitter) or Chat, the elderly struggled to use these options. Deaf respondents mentioned that they would have liked the support of a (remote) interpreter at times. As a general rule, the more complex the question or problem, the more important it becomes that customers with an auditory impairment can effectively communicate with Customer Service.

What has NS done with the outcomes?

After setting up a working group that included the various advocacy groups for people with an auditory impairment, we came up with the following improvements.

1. NS has put together a brief tutorial for all NS customer service officers with key tips on how to communicate with customers with hearing impairments.
2. NS Customer Service can now also easily be reached via Klik voor Teletolk. Here's how it works.
3. If, despite all our contact and support options, you still can't communicate effectively with NS Customer Service, you can ask us to send a contact form. Here's how it works.

NS hopes that these adjustments will make our Customer Service just a little more accessible for people who are deaf or hard of hearing.