New heating facilities at Amsterdam Amstel 01/02/2008 00:00

NS passengers will no longer have to turn blue with cold as they wait at a drafty station.

1 February 2008

AMSTERDAM – NS passengers will no longer have to turn blue with cold as they wait at a drafty station. For passengers who are regularly bothered by the cold, the new heat pillars at Amsterdam Amstel station will certainly be a relief.

A push on the button activates one of the two pillars, which will commence to give off heat to a radius of 4 to 5 metres. The NS announced the new installation on Friday.

The heat pillars are new in the Netherlands, but have already been used at Gare du Nord in Paris. NS and Prorail hope the heating system, which will be used on a trial basis for the time being, will make one's time at the station more comfortable.

The heat pillar only works if the temperature is below 12 degrees and automatically shuts off after 4 minutes. The power it uses is generated by solar energy.

The pillars will be in place until at least the end of March. A spokesperson for the NS says a decision will then be made whether to keep them and whether to install them in other stations throughout the country.

[Copyright Expatica News + ANP 2008]

Subject: Dutch news