The turnstiles at Utrecht’s main railway station will be permanently in operation from Monday, meaning only people with a valid public transport smart card will be able to enter the complex.

Dutch railway firm NS ran trials in April and found that few people experienced problems, news agency ANP said. The company has now decided to close the station to all but ov-chipkaart owners in an effort to cut down on fare dodgers.

Turnstiles have been placed at 80 of the 400 NS stations around the country and most are now in permanent use. Amsterdam’s central station will be closed to all but smart card holders later this year. Rotterdam made the switch in 2015.

Using the turnstiles has cut fare dodging and increased passenger safety, a spokesman said. ‘And people using stations with turnstiles don’t forget to swipe their cards at the end of a journey,’ the spokesman said.