The Dutch Railways and the Amsterdam transport company GVB are displeased with the plan of the Amsterdam city council to remove the special police post at Amsterdam Central Station. They fear that the safety of the travelers will be compromised, they write in a letter to the city council.
The triangle of municipality, police and Public Prosecution wants to transfer the officers to the basic teams of the police. However, officers would remain active at the station, comparable to other cities.
According to the carriers, Amsterdam Central cannot be compared with other stations, because the complexity is greater there, writes Het Parool. In addition, NS and GVB are afraid that the change will lead to long-term disruptions in public transport. The police station is said to have built up a lot of knowledge in the field of safety at the station. This would allow the police station to recognize suspicious behavior better than normal officers.
Ill-considered plan
The FNV trade union is also concerned and speaks of an ‘ill-considered and incomprehensible plan’. According to FNV Spoor driver Henri Janssen, mayor Halsema “apparently still has to get used to the fact that Amsterdam is a world city, which includes a safe public transport hub”, writes The Telegraph.
The city council will discuss the police post next Thursday.
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