Preparing your journey at home
There are several options available to help you prepare your journey at home when travelling with a visual impairment. For example, you can plan your journey in advance using the Travel Planner and view the facilities available at the station of your choice. You can also book your journey with NS Travel Assistance, and a trained assistant will help you at the station and when boarding and exiting the train. This page has all of the information you need about preparing your journey at home and travelling with a visual impairment.
Plan your journey with the Travel Planner or NS App
The Travel Planner provides travel recommendations to every NS train station, as well as current travel information about your chosen route, such as whether the train is running on time or if there are any disruptions in service. You can also plan your journey using the NS App, which is available for free via the App Store and the Google Play Store. With the NS App, you can plan your journey using the Travel Planner and purchase a train ticket online. Both the travel information on our website and the entire NS App are screen reader accessible.
Request NS Travel Assistance for your journey
If you need assistance navigating through the station or when boarding, exiting or transferring between trains, you can request NS Travel Assistance and a trained assistant will help you find your way. There are three ways to book NS Travel Assistance: online via NS Travel Assistance, by calling tel.: 030-2357822, or using the NS App. You must create a Mijn NS account to book NS Travel Assistance online. NS Travel Assistance is currently available at more than 140 stations in the Netherlands.
'1 Stap Verder' service at major stations
With the ‘1 Stap Verder’ service, we offer travellers with a visual impairment arriving at one of the stations listed below assistance in finding their way to the next mode of public transport. The travel assistant will accompany you to the bus, tram or metro stop, the official taxi row, or the pick-up and drop-off lane at the station.
The 1 Stap Verder service is currently available at the following stations:
- Utrecht Centraal
- Zwolle
- Den Haag Centraal
- Amsterdam Centraal
- Rotterdam Centraal
You can request the 1 Stap Verder service by calling NS Customer Service at tel.: 030 2357822.
Request an OV-Begeleiderskaart
If you are unable to travel independently with public transport, you can request an OV-Begeleiderskaart that allows one companion to accompany you for free in the train, metro, tram and bus. The OV-Begeleiderskaart is issued in your name, so you can choose who you would like to accompany you for each journey. If more than one person accompanies you when you travel, then they must each have a valid ticket.
Request a free OV-chip Plus season ticket
With an OV-chip Plus season ticket on your personal OV-chipkaart, you can book your train journey conveniently by telephone or online. There is no need to check in and out while travelling. All of your booked journeys will be billed monthly. .
Find guide lines at the station
You can look for where the guide lines are located at the stations you'll be passing through on your journey from the comfort of your own home. Simply click on the 'find guide lines' button below. You can also go directly to the guide lines for the selected station in the travel recommendations at ns.nl by clicking on the three dots next to the station name.
Download the NS Perronwijzer app
If you have trouble reading the signs above the platforms, then as of today you can download the NS Perronwijzer app. The app provides information about the next train departing from the platform where you are standing, to help you make sure you're boarding the correct train. The app is available for free from the App Store for iOS and the Google Play Store for Android.
Go to 'At the station'
Several facilities are available at the stations to help travellers with a visual impairment, including guide lines, touch signs and Braille pictograms on NS Ticket Machines.