Every year, NS issues more than 500 million journey recommendations about travelling by train, engineering work and disruptions. With proper advice given in good time, passengers can make better choices. In 2017 we gave timely information about disruptions on the train and at the station in 83.2% of cases. That was higher than in 2016 (82.0%). We have improved the systems at stations, so that information screens show the right information in good time more often. In addition, the availability of journey information on the screens in trains has improved due to changes in the software and better management of the suppliers of information.

Journey Planner extended

We are continuously making improvements to the Journey Planner Xtra app and the Journey Planner on ns.nl. We add functionalities that research shows add the most value for customers. In 2017 we based the information from the Journey Planner Xtra more on the passenger’s location, their behaviour and the time when they used it. In the past year, we launched a completely revised Journey Planner Xtra app, with more of a focus on the entire journey from door to door. Passengers can customize the app according to their own needs by adding widgets, for example for favourite journeys. The app also gives information about buses, trams and metros (GPS location, times, lines and stops) and the information in the event of disruptions is in line with the information screens at the stations. For ns.nl and the Journey Planner Xtra, there is no need to log in to use the new functionalities.

Journey information screens

Last year we did research into the placement of large screens with up-to-date train journey information, including information on disruptions, at Utrecht Centraal, Amsterdam Centraal, Rotterdam Centraal and Den Haag Centraal stations. Research shows that the presence of screens makes a relatively large contribution to the general customer satisfaction of our passengers. NS has decided to install these journey information screens in 2018.

Journey information in the travel chain

The ‘Journey information during the train journey’ performance indicator states whether the journey information provided five minutes before the actual departure of the train was correct in cases of delayed departure. Performance improved in 2017 (86.3%) compared to 2016 (85.8%). This means the performance is at a stable, high level. When the quality of the information from our systems is stable and reliable, we can show the correct information on the screens in good time.