European Railroad Discussion > Amsterdam Centraal Station platform access

Good day to the list.  I'll be in Amsterdam most of the day tomorrow.  While some may know my primary interest is freight, I did greatly enjoy a recent post documenting the passenger trains at Centraal.  

This is typically a pretty rare trip for me, and the couple of times I've been before, it seems like the platforms at Centraal are controlled access (ticketed passengers only).

The weather looked pretty bad and I had no intention of standing over there in the rain, but looking like tomorrow afternoon may not be all that bad.  I will have my camera in my bag for some photography following this trip, so if the opportunity presents itself, I may head over to Centraal.  Will I be able to access the platform without a ticket, or do I need to look at purchasing some sort of local fare to get up there?

Any tips are greatly appreciated, as well as security advice as to taking photographs in Centraal.  Just from my couple of previous visits, I haven't really seen anywhere which lends itself well to taking photographs outside of Centraal, but admittedly have never ventured all that far either side of the station (not an inch to the west).

All the best,

Mike
 

I was just there but only rode inbound. I believe I had to put my ticket through a barrier to exit. But on the platforms there has never been an issue with photography as long as you stay on the platforms. I suppose one way around it if there are barriers would be to buy a ticket to someplace close and cheap like Schipol. That would give you unlimited access to the platforms for as long as you wanted. Looking forward to some photos.

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andersonb109 Wrote:
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> I was just there but only rode inbound. I believe
> I had to put my ticket through a barrier to exit.
> But on the platforms there has never been an issue
> with photography as long as you stay on the
> platforms. I suppose one way around it if there
> are barriers would be to buy a ticket to someplace
> close and cheap like Schipol. That would give you
> unlimited access to the platforms for as long as
> you wanted. Looking forward to some photos.

That's my experience. Once you get by the gate, there is access to all platforms and nobody checks to see that you have a ticket for a particular train.

TAW

I will be in Amsterdam and Rotterdam in September for a cruise out of Rotterdam and interested in how your day goes.

ShortlinesUSA Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Good day to the list.  I'll be in Amsterdam most
> of the day tomorrow.  While some may know my
> primary interest is freight, I did greatly enjoy a
> recent post documenting the passenger trains at
> Centraal.  
>
> This is typically a pretty rare trip for me, and
> the couple of times I've been before, it seems
> like the platforms at Centraal are controlled
> access (ticketed passengers only).
>
> The weather looked pretty bad and I had no
> intention of standing over there in the rain, but
> looking like tomorrow afternoon may not be all
> that bad.  I will have my camera in my bag for
> some photography following this trip, so if the
> opportunity presents itself, I may head over to
> Centraal.  Will I be able to access the platform
> without a ticket, or do I need to look at
> purchasing some sort of local fare to get up
> there?
>
> Any tips are greatly appreciated, as well as
> security advice as to taking photographs in
> Centraal.  Just from my couple of previous
> visits, I haven't really seen anywhere which lends
> itself well to taking photographs outside of
> Centraal, but admittedly have never ventured all
> that far either side of the station (not an inch
> to the west).
>
> All the best,
>
> Mike

I was in Amsterdam last March and, yes, a ticket is required to access the platforms, but once you're through the barriers there are no restrictions provided you don't trespass.

I was there in October 2018, and nobody bothered me. The outdoor portion of the platforms (on the left as you face the station from the street) were pretty okay for photography. I only had about 20 minutes, but I saw a fair number of moves. I agree that the easiest thing to do is probably to buy the cheapest train ticket available and use it to access the platforms.

You'll definitely need a train ticket. Cheapest is probably going to be next station down, Amsterdam Sloterdjik; I'd avoid Schipool, as you'll end up paying a bit extra because it's the airport. But I agree with what everyone else has said - my experience was that they won't bother you unless you do something dumb like jump on the tracks. Europeans are a lot more tolerant of train watching than we are in the states. There are three concourses that run underneath the tracks, and the physical gates are at the entrances on either end of the concourses, so once you pass the first one, you'll have access to all of the tracks just by returning to the concourse and walking to the next set of stairs up to the platforms. The international trains south - Thalys and Eurostar - all call on the farthest tracks north, I think it's 13 and 14. I saw IC and ICE trains from Germany further in, around track 7.

There's several stores outside the concourse and a few up by track 1 with snacks, etc. but you'll want to plan ahead for restroom breaks - the only one I found was on the north side of the station, by the western-most concourse. It was a pay toilet, but they give you a partial refund coupon that is good at several vending machines. Either way, I hope it will be a fun outing. Keep us posted on how it goes!

Jody

I appreciate all the great info.  The day did not go as planned-- as of midday, it was still cloudy and windy with scattered rain (you know, Europe in winter).  I thought to myself "Ahhh, I'll go back to sleep another hour and take a look then."  Yeah, try 4pm next time I opened my eyes!  This info will not go to waste, as I get over here about every other month.  And it sounds like it helped some others, too.

Thanks again to all who responded!

Mike
 

I'm a bit late to the party, but last I checked they also don't always have the gates active. I've been through Centraal a lot over the years and the ticket gates are often deactivated outside of the rush hour allowing free access to the platform. Of course, that's when there are fewer trains ;)

ShortlinesUSA Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I appreciate all the great info.  The day did not
> go as planned-- as of midday, it was still cloudy
> and windy with scattered rain (you know, Europe in
> winter).  I thought to myself "Ahhh, I'll go back
> to sleep another hour and take a look then." 
> Yeah, try 4pm next time I opened my eyes!  This
> info will not go to waste, as I get over here
> about every other month.  And it sounds like it
> helped some others, too.
>
> Thanks again to all who responded!
>
> Mike
>