Dutch Railways develops app for visually impaired passengers
Dutch railway operator Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS) has launched a new mobile application. It is dedicated to informing the passengers with a visual impairment. The app known as NS Perronwijzer was developed in a partnership with the Eye Association Netherlands.
Owing to the new application, the mentioned category of the passengers are able to receive information about the next departing train from the relevant platform, the departure time, the final destination, the train type (Sprinter or Intercity) and details such as delay or non-boarding. The NS Perronwijzer (NS Platform Guide) app provides this information by reading the signs located at the platforms or showing the required information in extra large letters. According to NS, the new digital solution is easy-to-use and has information about all the railway stations in the Netherlands even those which NS does not serve.
The long-held wish
The new application is available for both Android and iOS operating systems. Before launching, it has been tested with the support of the Eye Association Netherlands (Oogvereniging). “The NS Perronwijzer app fulfils a long-held wish. Now everyone at the platform can access the same information simultaneously,” said Luuk-Jan Boon, Director of Oogvereniging.
As the Dutch railway operator notes, the passengers have evaluated the application positively. “NS Perronwijzer is a solution for me. I can now determine for myself which train departs from a platform and check whether I am in the right position. This makes my train journey a little more independent,” specified Peter Waalboer who tested the digital solution.
Read also:
