Entrance gates at Utrecht Central Station locked from today

The entrance gates at Utrecht Central Stations will be locked from Monday morning. From now on, people can only access the platforms at the station by checking in with their public transit card. Utrecht Central Station is the 71st station in the Netherlands on which this measure is implemented, NOS reports.

This means that people who only want to wave someone off or go to a store in the station, will also have to check in. If they check out again within an hour, their visit will be free of charge. People who want to go from the city center to the Jaarbeurs side of the station without a public transit card, can use the outside passage.

NS conducted a three-day experiment with locked gates at Utrecht Central Station in April. According to the rail company, most travelers had no problem with the closed gates. 

According to NS, the locked gates are an effective measure against people using the trains without paying. "We notice that more and more travelers are getting used to it and see the benefits of the gates. It's also an effective means of not forgetting to check in or out", commercial director Hans Peters of NS said to NOS in September.

The rail company plans to close the gates at all major stations in the country by the end of this year. Amsterdam Central Station's gates will close in December. The gates at Rotterdam Central Station have been closed since 2015.