Tired of having to file for compensation after train delays? Two genius students from Utrecht have created a free and easy-to-use website that can help quickly check and submit compensation claims to NS.
Filing for compensation for a train delay can be time-consuming, especially when you are delayed and rushing around on public transport! That’s why two students from Utrecht, Michael Hilhorst and Daan Ykema, developed a site where users can apply for a refund following travel disruption.
“We developed a software system that keeps track of every train on every route throughout the country. If there is a delay in a route, [our system] will save it,” the students told the AD. Users add details of their public transport card number on the site, which allows the software developed by the students to “see on which routes you were delayed and whether you are entitled to compensation”.
The website developed by the students, trein-vertraging.nl, works by notifying NS of consumers’ compensation claims and costs nothing for users to use. The students created the tool with Dutch public transport provider NS in mind, so that users can quickly get reimbursed with minimal fuss for delayed trains in the Netherlands.
The students know the system and the rules for compensation too. “On the high-speed line, you are entitled to compensation for a delay of just 15 minutes. This is half of the amount you paid for your trip. If you are delayed by 30 minutes or more, you will receive a full refund. For other routes, a compensation of half the amount applies for a delay of 30 minutes. And for an hour or more the entire amount,” the students told the AD.
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