NS donates old train parts to simulate train travel for dementia patients

NS teamed up with Alzheimer Nederland to donate train parts to 22 nursing homes. The nursing homes can use the parts to create train compartments so that people with dementia can experience train travel again without leaving the nursing home.

NS and Alzheimer Nederland tested the idea with a traveling “imagination train compartment,” which visited nursing homes throughout the country in 2021 and 2022. The compartment has now been given a permanent place in a nursing home, and NS will donate the parts to make similar compartments for 22 nursing homes.

The donated train parts come from old double-deckers. The donations also fit with NS’s ambition for 100% circular trains. “NS is therefore looking closely at whether train material can be reused or given a new destination elsewhere,” the rail company said.

Nursing homes can sign up for a train compartment here. NS will select 22 nursing homes that can collect the train parts free of charge from the NS workshop in Amersfoort on December 20.

The Netherlands currently counts about 290,000 residents with dementia. Due to the aging population, that number is expected to increase to about 420,000 by 2030 and 520,000 by 2040.