Case study · Amsterdam, Netherlands
Amsterdam Centraal — the guide line
that talks.
How ProRail, NS and PBTconsult placed around 175 NaviLens codes at the intersections of the tactile guide lines of Amsterdam Centraal so that no traveller gets lost during the station's major refurbishment.
Video without dialogue · image only
§ Video · Augmented reality
An arrow that takes you to the platform.
The NaviLens GO app overlays an augmented-reality arrow on the corridor floor from the code to platforms 4 and 5, while reading the information aloud in the traveller's language.
ProRail · NS
Dutch railway network operator
175
NaviLens codes at guide line intersections
42
Languages with voice readout
Live build
Accessible wayfinding during the CS refurbishment
The client
ProRail · NS
Amsterdam Centraal
ProRail is the public rail infrastructure manager of the Netherlands, responsible for tracks, bridges, walkways and stations. Together with the operator NS and the accessibility consultancy PBTconsult B.V., it keeps the country's largest station running: Amsterdam Centraal.
Over 130 years old, the monument is in the middle of a large-scale refurbishment with closed passages and shifting routes. So that no visually impaired person is left behind, they choose NaviLens as a digital layer on top of the classic tactile guide lines.
§ The challenge
Don't let the works disorient anyone.
- 01
A monumental station under construction
Amsterdam Centraal is a railway monument over 130 years old. The major refurbishment shifts routes, closes passages and moves lifts: for a blind or low-vision person, every week is a new station.
- 02
Guide lines aren't enough
Tactile floor lines orient, but don't say where they lead. At each crossing, the traveller needs to know which direction goes to the platforms, exits, lifts or the IJ passage.
- 03
Two million travellers, dozens of languages
Amsterdam Centraal sees tourists, international travellers and residents with very different profiles. Wayfinding information had to be universal, not only in Dutch and English.
§ The solution
NaviLens at every
crossing.
Some 175 colour-coded NaviLens markers are installed exactly where the tactile guide lines intersect: every route decision now has a spoken answer.
The NaviLens GO app detects them from several metres away, without focusing and on the move. The traveller hears in their own language which platform, lift or exit each direction leads to — even when passages change due to works.
§ On the ground
§ Timeline
From a tactile line to an audible network.
- 2021
Wayfinding plan presented
ProRail and NS present the plans for the new wayfinding system at Amsterdam Centraal, with accessibility as one of its pillars.
- 3 Oct 2024
Official launch of the new wayfinding
Three years later, the new system goes live and is officially inaugurated, helping travellers orient themselves during the station's major refurbishment.
- Dec 2024
175 NaviLens codes at guide line intersections
ProRail, NS and consultancy PBTconsult B.V. roll out around 175 colour NaviLens codes at the intersections of the station's tactile floor lines.
- Day to day
Every crossing, an informed decision
The traveller points the NaviLens GO app and hears in their own language which platform each branch leads to, where the lift, toilets, exit or IJ passage are — even when signs change due to works.
§ What they said
Voices from the rollout, in their own words.
“We zijn met ProRail gaan praten over een proef op Amsterdam Centraal. Bij de verbouwing van het station heeft ProRail de verplichting op zich genomen om blinden en slechtzienden te informeren over de steeds veranderende situatie. Vorig jaar zijn we met de installatie van NaviLens begonnen.”
“Door alle verbouwingen en veranderingen rond het Centraal Station zijn alleen geleidelijnen daar onvoldoende, er is meer nodig om mensen onderweg te helpen. We willen mensen met een visuele beperking dezelfde kwaliteit van reizen bieden als ieder ander.”
§ Results
A monumental station, also for those who can't see it.
175
Audible decision points in the middle of construction
42
Languages — for a truly international station
0
Need to see panels to find your platform
"Guide lines orient; NaviLens says where they lead. In a station under construction, that difference is independence."
§ And your network?
Your next station can also speak.
Tell us about your network, your pain points and the KPIs you want to move. We’ll show you how NaviLens would fit —with comparable cases.
