Skip to main content

Delivering a ‘smart’ Amsterdam Central Station

Under a contract awarded by the Netherlands Railways (NS), Royal HaskoningDHV has been measuring the pedestrian flows of Amsterdam Central Station since the beginning of May. The data enables NS to optimise the often complex pedestrian flows at this station, thereby improving comfort and safety of the 250,000 daily visitors of Amsterdam Central Station. Royal HaskoningDHV has implemented a range of technologies that are already in use other stations in the Netherlands, including tracking and counting se
May 26, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
Under a contract awarded by the Netherlands Railways (NS), 6132 Royal HaskoningDHV has been measuring the pedestrian flows of Amsterdam Central Station since the beginning of May. The data enables NS to optimise the often complex pedestrian flows at this station, thereby improving comfort and safety of the 250,000 daily visitors of Amsterdam Central Station.
 
Royal HaskoningDHV has implemented a range of technologies that are already in use other stations in the Netherlands, including tracking and counting sensors at the station’s entrances and exits and wi-fi tracking from mobile devices. These provide data on where flows of pedestrians enter and leave the station and enables their numbers, walking routes, length of stay and  times of day to be measured, as well as how busy the different locations are.

The data gathered is then analysed to inform new measures that improve pedestrian flow around the station. These might include changing the design and layout of the station, relocating public transport gates, deploying station staff differently, or finding the most logical positions for signposting and the best points to offer station and other information.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Spot speed deterrent proved to be transient
    October 18, 2013
    As research and trials show the benefits of average speed enforcement - David Crawford reviews developments on two continents. August 2013 saw the switch on of the Australian State of Victoria’s latest combined point-to-point (P2P) average speed enforcement (ASE) and spot camera control system. Installed on the 27km Peninsula Link to the south-east of Melbourne, the system uses high-resolution automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras and optical character recognition (OCR) technology developed b
  • Watch your step: the sidewalk robots are here
    March 14, 2023
    The way we order and pay for goods has changed radically – but what about how those goods are delivered? Gordon Feller looks at how sidewalk robots might reshape the urban landscape
  • EIT Mobility’s A-Z of Uvar
    January 31, 2023
    Well-implemented vehicle mobility schemes offer cities quick ways to improve the quality of urban life - and now EIT Mobility has written a guide to doing so. Andrew Stone has a read…
  • Vaisala: Weather data is vital for connected vehicles
    August 26, 2016
    Vaisala’s Dr Kevin Petty explains why the weather will continue to play a big part in road safety and traffic management in the smart cities of the future. The world is becoming increasingly connected. Thanks to advances in information and communications technology, the cities we live in are becoming ‘smart’, with everything from education to law enforcement managed by integrated tech solutions in a bid to improve quality of life.