MPs say station gates should be higher to stop people jumping over them

station turnstiles gates ov-chipkaartJust a few days after Rotterdam’s main railway station was closed to all but ticket holders, MPs say the barriers should be made higher because people are simply jumping over them.

According to the AD on Tuesday, a majority of MPs say the gates in Rotterdam and other big stations should be more difficult to jump over to stop people using the trains without a public transport smart card. They also want barriers installed in The Hague and Utrecht.

This weekend, over 100 people were fined for jumping over the gates in Rotterdam. These were mainly people who had been out on the town for the evening, news agency ANP says.

‘This should not become a new national sport,’ Betty de Boer of the right-wing Liberal VVD told the AD. ‘These people are deliberately not buying a ticket. The NS should look at installing higher gates.’

The NS set aside €500m to install gates at 82 main stations in an effort to stop people travelling without tickets and reduce attacks on staff.

The AD points out that the NS is 100% state owned and will find it difficult to ignore parliament on the issue. However, the company insists the lower barriers look better and that it has enough staff on hand to fine people who ignore them.

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