Edwin (46) was on his way home after a performance by the Swedish band Ghost. He eventually spent the night in Ziggo Dome. “First and foremost: the people at Ziggo Dome were top notch. They arranged shelter as best they could, provided medical attention (if necessary) and set up security. They were all equally friendly and helpful. The atmosphere there was great.”
“I can’t say all that about the NS. There was a lack of communication everywhere at the Bijlmer ArenA station. The gates were closed, the (railway) police were well represented, but they didn’t know anything else. “The station is closed, there are no more trains, find other transport,’ is all they said. Nothing was announced, there was nothing on the signs. Only the old departure times, which in turn caused confusion. The NS was clearly not prepared for this.”
“Now it was otherwise a ‘moderate audience’: mainly teenage girls who came for the Harry Styles concert. But if there had been a football match with this situation, the atmosphere would probably have been very different.”
“The following morning the NS was also conspicuous by its absence; there was no information. I really don’t have a good word for this. From now on I will no longer go by train to such events, that is my conclusion. Again, the NS was here totally unprepared and the fact that no grim atmosphere has arisen is really due to the ‘soft’ audience.”
Grietje (43) also has no good experiences with the NS. She was on her way to her hotel after a Harry Styles concert. “After the last song I quickly went to the train, but it soon became clear that they were not running.” At 11:30 pm, the last bus she could have taken left for Breukelen. But she couldn’t save it, because the bus was already too full and the bus driver didn’t let people in anymore. As a result, she panicked: “I asked for help, but both GVB (the transport in Amsterdam, ed.) and the police could not do anything.”
“In the end I ended up in the Ziggo Dome at the first aid. I have migraine attacks and my medicines were still in the hotel. The first aid was really fantastic. They tried to arrange everything and in the end I was in a dark, quiet room. Around two o’clock I fell my pain a little and I managed to arrange a taxi. At 2.30 am I finally arrived at my hotel.”
“My experience with the communication of the NS is bad. You were left to your own devices. But the help in Ziggo Dome was absolutely super and the atmosphere was also friendly and calm. If I hadn’t been in such pain, it might have been still fun.”
Frederique (31) also stranded in Amsterdam after the Ghost concert. “The communication was very bad. After the concert we went to the train station with high hopes only to discover that the NS app and 9292 were completely unaware of the trains that were not running.”
“We were not told much by the police. They said that we had to get transport, but did not know what was driving and where. As a last resort, they pointed us to Ziggo Dome to spend the night there. We did that.”
“At Ziggo Dome, emergency blankets and snacks were distributed. Employees also set up initiatives for transport, such as sharing taxis and making groups for transport to the same location. Where the NS stayed is a mystery to me. We spent all night We waited in the hope that transport would also be arranged for us, but that was not possible.”
“We were lying on the floor in a cold Ziggo Dome in a sleeping bag. The security was lousy. Bums and confused people walked in without the security doing anything.”
“In the morning there was no help or information from NS. We took the regional bus at 6 a.m. and made an attempt to get home with several regional buses. Finally, a family member was able to pick us up at an abandoned bus station.”
“Last night I felt anxious and abandoned. NS did not say anything and did not call in any help. I expected that there would be shuttle buses in the morning to take the last concertgoers home. But apparently that is too much to ask .”
NS reageert: ‘Ontzettend vervelend’
NS laat het volgende weten in reactie op dit artikel: “Wij vinden het ontzettend vervelend dat reizigers te maken hebben gekregen met de enorme impact van de IT-storing op de verkeersleidingspost bij ProRail waardoor er rondom Amsterdam geen treinen reden. Wij hebben geprobeerd reizigers zo goed mogelijk op de hoogte te houden van de situatie. Dat is niet in alle gevallen gelukt en dat betreuren wij. Alle communicatiemiddelen zijn ingezet om reizigers te informeren, onder andere via de website van NS, via de NS Reisplanner-app en omroepberichten op stations. Ook onze collega’s op het station en gestrande conducteurs en machinisten hebben hulp geboden. Maar het gaat om heel veel reizigers. Helaas bereiken we niet iedereen. Uiteraard nemen we deze signalen van reizigers serieus en gaan we kijken hoe het de volgende keer beter kan.”
