Results of the 2024 survey to determine which of the 393 train stations in the Netherlands passengers think are the best, and worst, have been released. What may come as a surprise to many is that none of the large and well-known stations have made it into the top 10.
The annual Station Experience Monitor carried out by Ipsos I&O on behalf of NS and ProRail surveyed over 84.000 train passengers. Overall, the study revealed that people in the Netherlands were as pleased with the quality of Dutch stations as they were in 2023, with the average score remaining 7,2 out of 10 for 2024.
According to NS, the stand out of the most recent survey is Ede-Wageningen station, which improved by 0,9 points to reach an overall score of 7,1. “That makes us proud,” said Karen te Boome, Director of Stations at ProRail. “After the major renovation in 2024, we will have delivered a completely new station. Fantastic to see that travellers appreciate this effort so much.”
Other stations where improvements were made, such as new furniture, planters and greenery maintenance also received higher scores among users of public transport. Examples are Diemen, Spaubeek and Geleen-Oost which all had scores rise by 0,8 points. “Improvements have been implemented at various stations over the past year,” said Sebastiaan de Wilde, CEO of NS Stations. “It’s great that our travellers see this and appreciate these stations more!”
For the fifth year in a row, Klimmen-Ransdaal was rated as the Netherlands’ favourite station with an overall rating of 8,3 out of 10. Other stations also located in Limburg continued to dominate the top 10: the province’s stations coming in third, sixth and eighth were Schin op Geul (8,2), Valkenburg (8,0) and Houthem-St.Gerlach (8,0).
On the opposite side of the spectrum, some of the worst-performing stations were in Noord-Brabant, Noord-Holland and Zuid-Holland. Den Helder Zuid (5,1) and Nieuwekerk aan den IJssel (5,3) were given some of the lowest scores in the country, while Lage Zwaluwe was given a failing grade by rail travellers with a score of 4,8.
These stations received bad scores due to their environment and lack of attractiveness. “Lage Zwaluwe station scores low due to its remote location and lack of atmosphere,” explained te Boome. “In 2026, new station furniture will be installed at this station, such as benches and bins, and we will also include extra comfortable waiting areas.” The other stations will see similar upgrades.
Most of the stations mentioned up to this point might not sound familiar to you so what about the bigger, well-known stations? Of the Netherlands’ largest train stations, Delft claimed the top spot, coming in 17th place overall with a score of 7,9 out of 10.
Other stations that performed well in the major Dutch cities include Rotterdam Centraal, Utrecht Centraal, Haarlem and Arnhem Centraal which all scored above 7,6 out of 10. Of the stations in the Dutch capital, Amsterdam Amstel performed best with a score of 7,5 out of 10 while Amsterdam Lelylaan received the lowest score (6,1).
According to travellers opinions in the Station Experience Monitor 2024, these are the best Dutch train stations:
And here are the five Dutch train stations that performed the worst:
For more information about the results of the survey, visit the NS website.
Thumb image credit: Frans Blok / Shutterstock.com