Using travel products

If you travel with us using a personal OV-chipkaart, an individual ticket, or an international ticket, we will need to use some of your data to facilitate your trip. This data includes your card, bank and travel details. You provided us with this data when you purchased the product.

If you are an NS-Business Card holder or booker,  then we will use your business contact data if possible. We have received this data from you or your employer.

We use your personal data to facilitate travelling with an OV-chipkaart. We also use this data for our card machines and check-in/check-out poles. Finally, we use your data to enable the conductor to check your ticket.

The international ticket allows you to pass through gates. The international ticket is also used to check your ticket on the train.

The basis for data processing is: the performance of the contract.

We only process the data required to use a personal travel product, as provided by you, insofar as it is necessary to enter into a traveller agreement with you, to perform this agreement, and to enable you travel with NS. If you do not wish to share personal data with us, you can travel with a non-personal travel product.

The chip in an anonymous OV-chipkaart contains no personal data, such as your name or home address, but it does contain your travel preferences, such as your favourite stations or journeys. We do not track these preferences in detail. For example, we do not know at what time you travelled.

The basis for processing the information is: legitimate interest of NS

NS also uses its passengers' check-in/check-out data to create so-called footfall (passenger numbers) per station. NS uses the resulting non-attributable data for social purposes, such as security and crowd control at and around the station, as well as for commercial purposes, such as choosing the locations for specific services and shops at the stations and improvement of the products. Another purpose of these reports is to best match the operation of station shops with the number of people using the station. NS has a legitimate interest in doing so that outweighs that of its passengers. You can opt out of this at any time by objecting to the further processing of your data. You can request this by submitting the request form.

Compatible use: periodic pricing updates for NS-Business Collective.

We may periodically analyse the actual travel behaviour of NS Business Card users. We only do this if the card has been or will be issued by your employer under the conditions of NS-Business Collective. We do this so we can periodically offer employers the most appropriate rate with additional benefits for you as an NS-Business Card user, such as free travel for commuting, business and private purposes. We only use non-identifiable data for this purpose.

Compatible use: scientific research and statistical purposes.

Finally, we may conduct or commission scientific or other research for statistical purposes. This research may involve the processing of personal data. The data used for research is always aggregated, such as the number of people who check in and out at a station. It may be necessary to process personal data for this research, in which case we will take sufficient measures to guarantee privacy, such as pseudonymisation, considering the context in which the data were collected, and only publishing after ruling out the possibility that further processing will have consequences for the persons involved.

In the case of scientific research or statistical purposes, we may share the data with scientific organisations such as universities, or organisations of a public nature such as municipalities, the Ministry of Infrastructure, or ProRail. These organisations will not be able to attribute the data to an individual person. The organisations use the data to perform their duties and responsibilities in the station area in order to align the facilities with the travellers' needs.

We also publish non-identifiable data, so that it can be used for scientific or statistical purposes. 

If you travel with an OV-chipkaart, we will share this data with TransLink. TransLink is responsible for issuing OV-chipkaarten, ensuring that they work properly, and processing the transactions made with the OV-chipkaart.

We will also share data with third parties if this is required to guarantee proper national coverage of the OV-chipkaart. A limited amount of functional data may be shared with TransLink and other public transport companies. For more information, please visit OV-chipkaart.nl.

If you purchase an international train ticket, your data will be registered by BeNe Rail International (an international collaboration between the NS and Belgische Spoorwegen) and by us to produce, issue, and guarantee the proper functioning of the ticket.

We will also share your data with the appropriate carrier, such as Eurostar, to complete your booking. We have made agreements about the processing of personal data with these parties, pertaining to how this information is secured and stored, for instance.

We also use IT services provided by third parties. These third parties process our data solely for our own internal use, and for no other purpose. We have made agreements about the processing of personal data with these parties, pertaining to how this information is secured and stored, for instance.

If you are an NS-Business Card holder, we will share some data relating to your travel history with your employer, depending on the type of season ticket taken out by your employer, e.g. a Trein Vrij or OV Vrij season ticket. If your employer has taken out a Trein Vrij season ticket for you, our invoices will also show your travel history on other forms of public transport (e.g. bus, tram and metro) and the fares paid, as these trips are not covered by the travel product purchased by your employer. Your employer will also be able to see whether you changed your travel class or used door-to-door services (e.g. taxi or OV-fiets). The times at which you made the journeys will not be passed on to your employer. However, NS will use the times to label the trips you make as a 'business trip' or a 'private trip' (note: no times will be shown to or shared with your employer). We supply this data to your employer so that they can pass on the costs to you and/or request corrections (e.g. if you forgot to check out).

We are authorised to provide your personal data to parties outside the European Economic Community under certain circumstances. In that event, we will take suitable measures with these parties, for example by agreeing to the standard provisions required by the European Commission.

If you travel with NS, we will retain your personal data for up to 18 months after the date of the journey.