Train operator NS has hired extra cleaners to keep its carriages tidy during journeys following complaints about litter.

The cleaners will work on the routes between Den Helder and Nijmegen, Alkmaar to Maastricht, Amsterdam to Dordrecht and Lelystad to Vlissingen, following a successful trial between Amsterdam and Utrecht in the autumn.

NS said the measure was partly designed to deter passengers from discarding their litter on the train. ‘If the carriage is clean or being cleaned, passengers are less quick to leave their newspaper or coffee cup behind,’ said a spokesman.

Initially the cleaners will only work on off-peak trains, but NS said the service could be extended later. They will also be given training on how to interact with passengers, since until now trains have been cleaned when empty.

‘They will know, for example, that it’s not very easy to empty the bin at a fully-occupied four-seater and they will learn the best way to enter a carriage,’ said a spokesman for cleaning contractor Hago Rail Services.