Rail sail tickets Hoek to any NS station

Nicholas43 · 27 Feb 2020

The ever-wise Man in seat 61 says

The confirmation from Stena Line will tell you how to download your Dutch metro & train tickets: You do this by going to a special page on the Dutch Railways (NS) website, www.ns.nl/producten/en/coupon. You enter the code that Stena Line give you and enter the starting & end points of your NS journey. The starting point of your NS journey is the station where you get off the RET metro and get onto an NS train, so if your destination was Amsterdam (for example) you'd enter Schiedam Centrum to Amsterdam Centraal, if it was Utrecht you'd enter Rotterdam Alexander to Utrecht Centraal. You print out the ticket, or you can load it into the NS Travel Planner app and show on your smartphone. The barcode on this ticket will operate the NS & RET ticket gates at stations.

Can any forum member say how this works in practice? I don't see how a NS e-ticket from Schiedam to (for example) Breda will work the barrier to exit the Metro at Schiedam. I would expect to need a separate RET ticket for Metro Hoek to Schiedam.

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superjohn · 27 Feb 2020

I understand the bardcode acts as a barrier pass for both NS and RET gates. You won’t need a separate ticket to get to Schiedam.

On my last trip I overheard Stena staff telling a passenger that NS had set up the system so hurriedly that they had neglected to enter Hoek as a start/destination point, hence the discrepancy. I don’t know how true that is though. It seems that they wanted the old style chipkaarte rover tickets out of use with some haste though.

DanielB · 27 Feb 2020

RET has relatively recently introduced barriers (and card readers on stations without barrier, like Hoek van Holland Haven) which are able to read barcodes. Obviously these will be programmed to be able to read the barcode on an NS E-ticket.
Choosing Hoek van Holland Haven as the starting point will not be possible as this station no longer exists for NS: their e-ticket website is only able to sell tickets to and from train stations (including those served by other operators). It however does make sense that it was StenaLine wanted to get rid of selling tickets valid to any Dutch station. Possibly NS was charging them a lot, while the new system would allow charging only the tariff for the route it's used for. Can't imagine that it is NS who wanted to get rid of these tickets, as they are still common for international high speed trains. For example Eurostar is also offering tickets to/from any Dutch station now the direct trains from Amsterdam to London are being introduced.

AlexNL · 27 Feb 2020

Nicholas43 said:
Can any forum member say how this works in practice? I don't see how a NS e-ticket from Schiedam to (for example) Breda will work the barrier to exit the Metro at Schiedam. I would expect to need a separate RET ticket for Metro Hoek to Schiedam.

It says so right in the text which you quoted:

The barcode on this ticket will operate the NS & RET ticket gates at stations.

Nicholas43 · 27 Feb 2020

AlexNL said:
It says so right in the text which you quoted:

Yes. But I am asking how it works, given that (as far as I can see) NS sells only
- e-tickets between NS (and selected foreign) rail stations, not including stations on the RET metro
- chip cards for all transport eg in Amsterdam.

AlexNL · 27 Feb 2020

By the looks of it, the "all you can travel" chipcards which you currently get on board the ferry are being replaced with one way e-tickets to a named station. For ease of booking, NS will be the sole party responsible for converting the voucher code into an e-ticket despite RET also being involved.

The barcode in the e-ticket will open the RET gates. If you're travelling to Rotterdam, you'll probably have to enter "Schiedam Centrum" to "Rotterdam Centraal" and just use the metro to go to your destination.

NS do not sell public transport tickets for the wider Amsterdam area. Once upon arrival in Amsterdam by train, head over to a ticket office to buy a ticket there.

dutchflyer · 28 Feb 2020

Thats it and its all brand new-so new that many Dutch will also not know about it or deny. NEW gates by RET-metro have more advanced readers that will allow more ticket-types as before (hitherto only chipped ones, long use or 1 time). In fact by now also a load of local buses get new readers, with a barcode (its AzTec BTW) reader on the lower side. So that f.e. the local Bus that serves S´hol airport (and also non RET serving Rotterdam tiny airport) is able to accept e-tickets (and pssibly also already held on a smartfone-not 100% sure yet) for all those overly anxious foreigners who always seem to want to buy tickets for fear of selling out monthes advance.
Stena/seaLInk in the past also had tickets to a specified Dutch station. I very well remember having to buy such a thing in a hurry at Liv. Street INtern. ticketing (imagine how long ago that was......) and was explained that a real station had to be written on them as the Brits were using them too much as ride-at-will daytickets. As it was an incomprehensible name of a tiny stop then, i had to write down it first......
But then NS is rapidly doing away with all types of hitherto daypasses and also replaces them with A to B returns. Also note that their system was not properly working for more as half the time in the last 4 weeks.

dutchflyer · 28 Feb 2020

AlexNL said:
NS do not sell public transport tickets for the wider Amsterdam area. Once upon arrival in Amsterdam by train, head over to a ticket office to buy a ticket there.

Nee hoor, al lang wel. NO, this is overtaken. NS does sell the ATT and ARTT (=Amsterdam or Ams REGION travel Ticket) since a few yrs ny now from all their staffed offices In the area (but not from machines). There are even large banners/posters about this. The ARTT comes with a leaflet and holder with map where it is valid (or at least should come as such). The map is OK for raillines, but does not clearly state it is valid on ALL buses of the companies concerned. Obviously Schiphol airprt sells by far the most of these.

Nicholas43 · 28 Feb 2020

Apologies for having started this new thread, overlapping with the Stena/NS SailRail changes thread.
I'm still puzzled about how these e-tickets, to be obtained using a voucher code, actually work. We are booked to travel in April. I'm guessing that Stena will send me the email with the voucher code(s) a month before our travel date (which seems to be when NS open bookings for e-tickets). It seems to be clear that on the NS booking-with-voucher site I can enter our journey only from NS station (ie Schiedam Centrum) to NS station (in our case, Breda). So am I guessing correctly that:
1. From the voucher code, NS will 'know' that we really want to start from Hoek van Holland Haven, not Schiedam.
2. Each e-ticket will show in words that it is from Metro Hoek van Holland Haven to Breda.
3. There must be a shared back office between NS and RET (and other operators?)
4. NS must tell this back office that the bar code on each ticket allows entry at Hoek (in theory, though in practice it is not necessary to pass a barrier at Hoek), exit through the barrier at Schiedam Metro, re-entry at Schiedam NS, and exit at Breda.
5. NS passes to RET some part of the price that it receives from Stena.

superjohn · 28 Feb 2020

I doubt it’s quite that complex. I haven’t seen one of the e-tickets but I imagine the barcode is read by the barriers as a generic gate pass, as is the case with InterRail passes and German e-Tickets for journeys into the Netherlands. This would allow for journeys that change from RET to NL at places other than Schiedam. I doubt actually validity at a given location is checked, probably just the date.

You will not run into any problems, In my experience Dutch revenue protection is much more reasonable than the UK‘s ‘guilty even if proven innocent’ approach. Unless you are making a blatantly mickey taking journey, eg. turning up at Amsterdam on a Hoek to Eindhoven ticket, you will be fine.

As the price is the same regardless of the journey made the revenue is probably distributed on a fixed basis.

ge-gn · 28 Feb 2020

Nicholas43 said:
Apologies for having started this new thread, overlapping with the Stena/NS SailRail changes thread.
I'm still puzzled about how these e-tickets, to be obtained using a voucher code, actually work. We are booked to travel in April. I'm guessing that Stena will send me the email with the voucher code(s) a month before our travel date (which seems to be when NS open bookings for e-tickets). It seems to be clear that on the NS booking-with-voucher site I can enter our journey only from NS station (ie Schiedam Centrum) to NS station (in our case, Breda). So am I guessing correctly that:
1. From the voucher code, NS will 'know' that we really want to start from Hoek van Holland Haven, not Schiedam.
2. Each e-ticket will show in words that it is from Metro Hoek van Holland Haven to Breda.
3. There must be a shared back office between NS and RET (and other operators?)
4. NS must tell this back office that the bar code on each ticket allows entry at Hoek (in theory, though in practice it is not necessary to pass a barrier at Hoek), exit through the barrier at Schiedam Metro, re-entry at Schiedam NS, and exit at Breda.
5. NS passes to RET some part of the price that it receives from Stena.

Sound like I’m in the same boat as you. My young family are going to Railworld in Schaerbeek via Harwich-Hook and Breda on a rail/sail ticket. I had just assumed they would have to purchase RET travel for the tram to Schiedam as part of a newly disjointed system. Ability to just wave a QR code would be preferable!

AlexNL · 28 Feb 2020

ge-gn said:
I had just assumed they would have to purchase RET travel for the tram to Schiedam as part of a newly disjointed system. Ability to just wave a QR code would be preferable!

That's what you're getting when you buy a Rail&Sail ticket, the RET metro leg of your journey is included.

Nicholas43 · 28 Feb 2020

AlexNL said:
That's what you're getting when you buy a Rail&Sail ticket, the RET metro leg of your journey is included.

Yes, that's what Stena advertise. But I still wish we had travellers report(s) about how it works in practice, and what it says on your NS e-ticket. And I'm curious about how much NS hands over to RET, given that the fares from Hoek to Schiedam or Alexander are different; and about what you do if you are (most intelligently!) only visiting Rotterdam, and want to travel to, say, Slinge.

30907 · 28 Feb 2020

Nicholas43 said:
Yes, that's what Stena advertise. But I still wish we had travellers report(s) about how it works in practice, and what it says on your NS e-ticket. And I'm curious about how much NS hands over to RET, given that the fares from Hoek to Schiedam or Alexander are different; and about what you do if you are (most intelligently!) only visiting Rotterdam, and want to travel to, say, Slinge.

Why not ask the man in Seat61 whether he has tested it? It's a route he uses regularly.

DanielB · 28 Feb 2020

Nicholas43 said:
and what it says on your NS e-ticket.

Probably, as that's what is common with NS, the ticket will show RailSail in the bottom right hand corner. Special ticket types, so everything not being a standard return ticked for example, always have the name of the ticket on them like in this example.
A mention of the validity with RET is also to be expected, probably placed on the right hand top corner below the route with NS.

Regarding validity with RET I wouldn't expect any issues when travelling on line B all the way from Hoek van Holland to Rotterdam Alexander (as that's the most convenient station to change for direction Utrecht) and on line D and E between Beurs and Rotterdam Centraal.

Nicholas43 · 28 Feb 2020

DanielB said:
... like in this example.

As far as I can see, Kruidvat are now selling only NS day returns, for which you have to specify the start and end stations.

AlexNL · 28 Feb 2020

As far as I know NS (and all their partners) have stopped selling 'off-peak rover tickets' altogether. All 'cheap train tickets' promotions recently have been for return tickets only.

DanielB · 29 Feb 2020

Nicholas43 said:
As far as I can see, Kruidvat are now selling only NS day returns, for which you have to specify the start and end stations.

Correct, but the example was only meant to show how NS is mentioning the ticket type on an e-ticket (as that was where you were asking for). This was the best readable example thereof I could find.

jamesontheroad · 29 Feb 2020

Interesting thread to catch up on.

I hope this changes make it possible for Stena to sell any “any Dutch station” to “any GA station” ticket to someone who lives outside the Netherlands. I used to assume this was because the physical NS/RET ticket had to be posted to you. If you can download a QR code, it’s about time that restriction was lifted.

30907 · 29 Feb 2020

jamesontheroad said:
Interesting thread to catch up on.

I hope this changes make it possible for Stena to sell any “any Dutch station” to “any GA station” ticket to someone who lives outside the Netherlands. I used to assume this was because the physical NS/RET ticket had to be posted to you. If you can download a QR code, it’s about time that restriction was lifted.

The man in Seat61 says you can - using the .nl version of the Stena site.

jamesontheroad · 29 Feb 2020

30907 said:
The man in Seat61 says you can - using the .nl version of the Stena site.

Thanks. I’ll try next time.

Flying Snail · 1 Mar 2020

Stena have recently changed the terms on the dutch site, previously it advised that tickets had to be posted and only to NL addresses, the FAQ now states:

Question: How do I book a ticket?
Answer: Rail and Sail tickets can be booked online through the Stena Line website or by calling +31 (0)174 315 811. For bookings made by telephone we will charge a €15 reservation fee. We recommend international customers to book online.

Question: Do I have to print my e-ticket?
Answer: Yes, please make sure you print a copy of the itinerary / e-ticket before the start of your journey. This will be accepted as a valid travel document for your rail journey on Greater Anglia rail services in the UK and for your ferry crossing. If you have made a booking including train tickets in the Netherlands, you will receive a separate email from Stena Line with a link to the NS website to book your train tickets by using special NS coupon codes.

Question: How do I book my train ticket?
Answer: With the received coupon codes, you can choose the date you wish to travel on the NS website and choose a start and end station for the journey. If you are booking a separate RET metro journey (for example from / to Schiedam Centrum or Rotterdam Alexander), choosing a station is not necessary.

Rail sail tickets Hoek to any NS station

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