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Caring for national and cultural railway heritage

The Netherlands and NS are inseparably connected with each other. We work with various organisations to manage and conserve our railway heritage so that future generations can learn about it.


Railway museum and archive

Railway museum

With backing from NS, the Railway Museum was completely renovated in 2005. Since then the museum has been one of the Netherlands' leading museums, with a vibrant collection that displays our heritage beautifully. The museum literally links the past with the present, with a daily shuttle train between Utrecht Centraal station and the Maliebaan station. The Railway Museum's website features an overview of the history of the railway in the Netherlands.

The Utrecht Archives

NS works with The Utrecht Archives to conserve our heritage so that the history of our railways is preserved for future generations.

Royal Waiting Rooms

Together with ProRail, NS manages the stations in the Netherlands. 31 station buildings have been granted status as municipal, provincial or national monuments. The recently restored Royal Waiting Rooms in Amsterdam, Den Haag HS and Baarn are particular gems.

In the previous century, the Dutch royal family also made use of the services that the railways had to offer. They had royal carriages and in several stations they had their own entrance and several so-called royal chambers, where they waited to depart or waited for foreign guests to arrive. This complex of chambers was called the Royal Waiting Rooms.

Waiting rooms in the Netherlands

For a long time, The Hague had two Royal Waiting Rooms: one in Hollands Spoor station and one in Staatsspoor station (present-day Den Haag Centraal). The entire interior of this station, which was demolished in 1976, is on display at the Railway Museum in Utrecht. Other stations with Royal Waiting Rooms were Apeldoorn, Baarn, Vlissingen and Amsterdam. The waiting rooms in Den Haag Hollands Spoor (HS), Baarn and Amsterdam have been restored over the past 10 years.

Digital viewing

For a long time the Royal Waiting Rooms were not visible to the public. We have provided the opportunity to digitally view this beautifully decorated part of our cultural heritage. You can use the free app 'koninklijke wachtkamers' to view every detail of the royal pavilions in Amsterdam Centraal and Den Haag Hollands Spoor stations. People with impaired vision or hearing can also virtually visit these rooms.

Carriage workshop in Amersfoort

The former Carriage workshop in Amersfoort is a good example of NS's interest in sustainability and conservation of cultural heritage. After their closure, the building on the Amersfoort premises were granted monument status. Several buildings were renovated and assigned a new function in 2010. Holland Opera moved into the Veerensmederij and CliniClowns took up residence in the Wielendraaierij.

Restaurant ‘Perron 4/5 volgens Tollius’

At Amersfoort station there is another special historical building: the former platform building on platform 4 and 5. This building has been assigned the function of catering and meeting place: Restaurant ‘Perron 4/5 volgens Tollius’