What personal data do we use?
To improve safety on and around the station and to enhance our services, we use counting sensors that register numbers of passers-by and analyse local pedestrian flows. Images from these counting sensors are not stored on the sensor or in any other way. In the past we also used WiFi tracking alongside these sensors. Since 7 January 2021 NS no longer uses WiFi tracking.
We also use camera surveillance on and around the station. Cameras record images that may be reviewed afterwards. This lets us act quickly in incidents and helps to detect and pursue offences. We use supporting AI applications with the camera surveillance; AI is used, for example, to spot unattended items more quickly.
What do we use your personal data for?
More than 1.2 million travellers use stations in the Netherlands every day. As hubs for pedestrian movement and public transport, stations are special places with connections between journey by train, metro, tram and bus, bicycle and car, and a growing range of services and facilities.
The legal basis for the processing is: legitimate interest.
NS continuously works to improve safety and to enhance the services we provide on and around the station. To do this, it is essential to understand pedestrian flows, routes, dwell times and waiting areas used by travellers and other station users. For that reason we map pedestrian flows at a number of major stations using counting sensors. We ensure the data generated by the sensors is processed securely and carefully. This is done so that the data cannot be traced, directly or indirectly, to individual passers-by. Your privacy is therefore protected.
We use the anonymised data both for public-interest purposes, such as safety and crowd control on and around the station, and for commercial purposes, such as choosing locations for certain services and shops at stations.
NS uses counting sensors at Amsterdam Centraal, Amsterdam Zuid, Amsterdam Bijlmer Arena, Utrecht Centraal, Schiphol Airport and ’s‑Hertogenbosch stations.
Camera surveillance also takes place on and around the station and in NS shops. Please note: not all shops and property at stations are operated by NS. The responsibility for camera surveillance in a shop is indicated at the shop entrance.
In practice camera surveillance is an important tool for preventing, detecting and prosecuting criminal offences and addressing other breaches. Another key aim is to support a targeted response by emergency services in the event of incidents or when help is requested.
Camera surveillance can also be used to assist in resolving disputes and to pursue compensation for damage to NS property. It is also an important means of detecting excessive crowding in time, enabling NS to take measures that promote safe, quick passage through the gates. Without camera surveillance we cannot adequately ensure the safety of our travellers, staff and property.
Camera surveillance is overt and indicated by pictograms on stickers. NS and its travellers have an interest in recording the images. We have also fitted cameras to the front and rear of some train sets. These cameras help us deal with incidents on the track more quickly and can also be used to prevent future incidents.
Security staff, Veiligheid & Service employees, chief conductors and service staff equipped with bodycams may be present at stations and on trains. They wear the bodycam to protect your safety and their own. The member of staff activates storage of bodycam footage when a potentially unsafe situation arises.
Without these recordings it would not be possible to investigate incidents afterwards or to safeguard the safety of our travellers and staff. We ensure all footage is stored securely and that access is restricted to authorised staff.
Who do we share data with?
We engage third parties to provide IT services. These parties act as processors for us and process data only on our behalf and for no other purpose. We have agreements with these parties about the processing of personal data. Camera footage can be requested from NS by an authorised investigative authority, such as the police, for the detection of criminal offences.
We may under certain circumstances transfer your personal data outside the European Economic Area. If we do so, we take appropriate measures with those parties, for example by using the standard contractual clauses adopted by the European Commission.
Requesting camera footage
If you want camera footage to be used in an investigation into a possible criminal offence, please contact the police. The police can request the footage from NS.
If you want to see your own personal data in camera footage, read the information under ‘Your rights’ at ‘Access to camera footage’. It explains how to submit a request and what information we need to search for footage efficiently.
How long do we keep your data?
Images from the counting sensors are not stored on the sensor or in any other form.
Only authorised personnel have access to camera footage. If no incident has occurred, footage is retained for 28 days and then deleted. If there is an incident, the footage is kept until the incident has been fully resolved. We may also retain footage that contains incidents proactively or preventively if that is necessary.