{"id":5811,"date":"2018-09-17T10:30:46","date_gmt":"2018-09-17T10:30:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/?p=5811"},"modified":"2018-09-10T22:36:35","modified_gmt":"2018-09-10T22:36:35","slug":"what-you-must-know-about-dutch-train-stations-pt-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/what-you-must-know-about-dutch-train-stations-pt-2\/","title":{"rendered":"What You MUST Know About Dutch Train Stations (pt. 2)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last week, we looked at everything you need to know about Dutch train stations. Since there was so much to know, I decided to break it up in two parts, to make it easier digestible. Today, we will look a bit more at tickets and the infamous\u00a0OV-chipkaart<\/em>.<\/p>\n

In- en uitchecken<\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n
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Here you can check out from NS (Image by author)<\/p><\/div>\n

The\u00a0OV-chipkaart<\/em>… We need to briefly talk about that. Since quite some time, the Dutch have a system in place that requires you to scan a card at poles, increasingly at little\u00a0poorten\u00a0<\/em>(gates) that are the only way to even get to the\u00a0sporen.\u00a0<\/em>You can\u00a0opladen\u00a0<\/em>(charge) this card at\u00a0oplaadpunten\u00a0<\/em>(charging points), where credit cards are accepted as well at no additional charge.<\/p>\n

However, you need to buy the card first, which costs \u20ac 7,50 at least – and that is\u00a0just the card<\/em>.<\/p>\n

You can also simply buy a ticket in a lot of stations, but if you stay for a few weeks or longer and you travel frequently, an\u00a0OV-chipkaart\u00a0<\/em>is probably a good idea. The convenience is that you can use the\u00a0OV-chipkaart\u00a0<\/em>in pretty much any\u00a0openbaar vervoer<\/em>, even on the\u00a0veerboten\u00a0<\/em>(ferries) in Amsterdam.<\/a><\/p>\n

What you will often hear in the train when entering a station is:\u00a0Reist u met de OV-chipkaart? V<\/em>ergeet dan niet uit te checken\u00a0<\/em>(Are you travelling with the OV chip card? Then please do not forget to check out). With these\u00a0poorten,\u00a0<\/em>you cannot really forget, because there is no other way for the damn\u00a0poort\u00a0<\/em>to open other than by checking out (as you can see – I am not a fan of the\u00a0poorten,\u00a0<\/em>because they can block passage through a train station to the other side of the tracks). In other cases, forgetting will cost you! At some point, the system will check you out. However, since it does not know where you entered the train, it assumes you traveled the farthest distance, which costs about \u20ac26,-. So, yes, it can suck to forget, but it does not cost you\u00a0that\u00a0<\/em>much.<\/p>\n

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OV-poortjes<\/em> (Image by author)<\/p><\/div>\n

A great source of cheap tickets, though only payable with a Dutch bank account, is\u00a0spoordeelwinkel.nl<\/em><\/a>. Otherwise, you can always be on the lookout for cheap train ticket campaigns at\u00a0Hema<\/em>,\u00a0Blokker\u00a0<\/em>or\u00a0Albert Heijn<\/em>, which are usually about \u20ac15,- for a dalvrij\u00a0<\/em>ticket (meaning only in hours outside the peak). But I digress!<\/p>\n

Overstappalen<\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n
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Image by author<\/p><\/div>\n

What you will find at any station that services multiple\u00a0vervoerders\u00a0<\/em>are\u00a0overstappalen\u00a0<\/em>(transfer poles). These are just points where you can\u00a0uitchecken\u00a0<\/em>(check out) from one\u00a0vervoerder\u00a0<\/em>(e.g.\u00a0NS<\/em>) and\u00a0inchecken\u00a0<\/em>(check in) to\u00a0another\u00a0(e.g.\u00a0Arriva<\/em>). This is required if your connection is serviced by a different\u00a0vervoerder<\/em>, so check beforehand. Simple rule of thumb: Yellow train?\u00a0NS<\/em> (yellow\/navy poles).\u00a0Blue?\u00a0Blauwnet\u00a0<\/em>or\u00a0Arriva<\/em> (blue\/white poles). Purple?\u00a0Veolia\u00a0<\/em>(purple\/white poles). I have never seen a station that services more than two\u00a0vervoerders<\/em>, so\u00a0overstappen\u00a0<\/em>(transferring) is a pretty simple process.<\/p>\n

Metro<\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n
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Image by author<\/p><\/div>\n

Puh! So much information and so much to think about! Time to relax a little. And why not with a free\u00a0krant\u00a0<\/em>(newspaper)? Just take a copy of\u00a0Metro<\/em>, a daily\u00a0krant\u00a0<\/em>that can be found at almost any station, fresh everyday to read in the train to stay up to date with what’s happening in the country – and a great way to sharpen your Dutch skills!<\/p>\n

Any questions, or things I forget or things you wondered about at Dutch train stations? Let me know in the comments below!<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

Last week, we looked at everything you need to know about Dutch train stations. Since there was so much to know, I decided to break it up in two parts, to make it easier digestible. Today, we will look a bit more at tickets and the infamous\u00a0OV-chipkaart. In- en uitchecken The\u00a0OV-chipkaart… We need to briefly…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":110,"featured_media":5817,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[60713,27711],"tags":[27735,506158,7599,276221,11869],"class_list":["post-5811","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture-2","category-dutch-vocabulary-2","tag-ov","tag-train-stations","tag-trains","tag-treinen","tag-utrecht"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t