You pay for a train journey with the OV chip card. This will allow you to check in and out. But what should you keep in mind?
Card for bus, train, tram and metro
To avoid a fine from a conductor or an incorrectly debited amount, it is important that you check in and out properly while traveling with your OV chip card. Make sure there is enough balance on your card in advance. You can read how to do this in the article ‘OV chip card: topping up’.
Check-in at starting point
At train stations you will find closed gates or posts where you hold the OV chip card against a card reader. You will see the message that you have checked in and the card registers that you are going out. Make sure you use the bollard of the carrier you are traveling with. Sometimes there are several carriers that run from one station, for example the NS or Arriva.
And to make it even more complicated: you have to pay a surcharge for the express train (Intercity Direct) between Amsterdam and Rotterdam. There are red posts at the stations for this. Hold the OV card against the card reader and the correct amount will be debited. That’s it, check out at the terminal then works as usual.
Check out at the end station
When you arrive at your final destination, you have to look for a pole on the platform or a pole/gate at the exit of the station. Here you hold the OV chip card against the reader again. The card registers that your journey has come to an end. The costs incurred are then automatically debited from your OV-chipkaart. You will be notified that you are checked out. You will often also see how much the train journey has cost and how much balance is still on your card.
Transferring between carriers
Do you have to change trains during your train journey? Then don’t check out. Just get on another train. However, there is one exception to this rule. If you change carriers, you must check out with one carrier and check in with another. This also applies, for example, if you transfer from train to metro (or vice versa) on the same platform.
For example: you travel by train from Utrecht to Sneek. Then you must in any case change trains in Leeuwarden en route. You then change the transport company there, namely from NS to Arriva. In this case, you must check out at the NS and then check in at Arriva. Make sure that you use the correct posts for this. The different transport companies each have their own bollards.
boarding rate
Traveling with the OV chip card is only possible if there is sufficient balance. The carriers use a so-called boarding rate. This is the minimum amount that must be on the card at the start of a trip. For train journeys, this rate is 20 euros. Please note: if you fall below this amount, the gates will not open when you check in! Then top up the balance first.
Video OV chip card: making a train journey
The video shows how to use the OV chip card during your train journey.