Regarding the withdrawl of paper tickets - does anyone know how this will work for international journeys? These passengers will still have paper tickets issued outside the Netherlands. Also, presumably NS will have to still issue paper tickets for international journeys.
NOOne knows the answer for now.
In fact PAPERtickets will also NOt cease as per 9/7, as its still very much possible to use self-print A4 online ordered tickets. In fact there is right now still a promotion of such daytickets for just 17.50 (for 1 adult and 2 kids).
It will also NOT (yet) mean that the gates will ALL be closed-every station that has gates (as for now limited to the 2 main cities and the line Amsterdam-Lelystad) will have at least 1 open.
The most recent announcement (likely to be recalled many times again) is that THIS year only trials will be done at some minor stations to close all, at peak times, with always 1 staff at hand to let people with other tix pass by.
The big stations will close last-quite funny, as the whole thing was 5-6 years ago thought of to have people at least pass 1 time the gates-to prevent fraud. Very much similar to gated systems in your UK. Maybe 2016/7.
The idea is that INTernational tickets will have scramble barcodes and that at any station at least 1 gate (the wide one, for handicapped etc.) will have readers for those-just as ** has at St.Pancras. Many other railways have already implemented those codes-the latest trial to combat fraud.
My own personal opinion is, that NS at the start has simply not thought of all possible permutations re tickets and that by now the law of ''too early, too smart'' applies: newer systems are already smarter and more able to adapt. But that would mean throw away a few billion in investment.
At some times it indeed looked like they would want to run the system like an enclosed metro, like LUL and force all international trips to pass into the chipsystem at the transitpoint. Maybe even they get smarter and note that this is impossible.
Denmark, now also very busy to introduce its own nationwide similar REJSEkort has decided it can do without barriers.
Payment by credit card in the machines should be enrolled to all stations (or at least 1 machine at any station) by year end.
And you from UK be aware that the overwhelming part of INternational travellers here come from the zone-Germany and Belgium. They can also use Maestro without any problem.
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I don't think it is common knowledge that domestic Dutch e-tickets can be be bought from the Belgian Railways international website, often at prices slightly lower than those charged by NS, and they accept foreign credit cards at no extra charge.
https://www.b-europe.com/Travel
The minus for this is that there is NO generous money back if your train/connection is late (50% from 30 mins, 100% for 60 mins-paid out in cash in your bankacount-now into ANY -bank in zone).
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1.That ticket which offers/offered travel across the Netherlands on trains all day would be amazing if it could be got without so much hassle.
2.I don't plan on visiting all the time so an OV-chipkaart is not worth it for me.
3.I'll have to wait until I can afford an Interrail trip again by the looks of it.
4.On which topic, if paperless travel is coming, Interrail tickets will have to change too.
5.Why, oh why, must NS make it such a massive PITA to travel around the Netherlands?
@1. ther are so many, but as told by now so often, not from NS, but from many retailers-price for 1 day (mo-fr only after 9.00) around 15/17. Currently one from HEMA.
@2.I as Dutchman visit LOndon maybe 1/year and have an Oyster laying in the cupboard for then.
There will be yet another promotion that Chipcards will cost only 2 in june/july 2014, either personal (with foto etc.) or anonymous.
@3.There is also IR-1 country, which is effectively 3 countries for NL-BE-LUX, from 3 days in 1 month.
@4.nonsense.
@5.The PITA is grossly overdrawn, as every day I see dozens of tourists able to use the trains here without too much fuss. Actually I find travel in Germany as for ticketing much more complicated- rules vary all the time, and I have an ecellent knowledge of German). And just stay mute about the UK with its multitude of competing and not accepting TOCs. Its also for a very big part the result of UK opting to not have . At least you can console yourself a little bit, that USAers even have more trouble,,as they feel can still do without chip+PIN on their cred-cards (and will thus not be accepted at all in machines hre).
By now all machines, besides MAESTRO also accept V-pay. Maybe that also helps the Brits-a little.
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