Dutch Rail Announced Smart Mobile Application

Dutch Rail has announced the launch of a mobile travel application, said to be the first implementation of wireless context-aware services for Dutch train travellers.
The National Dutch Rail Authority launched technology called Reisplanner Xtra. It was launched in partnership with Service2Media, Appear and Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS).

Reisplanner Xtra is a mobile travel application, which uses current location information (from GPS or mobile ID) to automatically determine the nearest station.

It offers customised services based on user context, records favourite journeys, preferred or recently visited stations, displays information regarding the station and local points of interest, and can let users share travel plans with other users.
Innovation Manager at NS, Corine van Drunen said that Reisplanner Xtra will be the mobile channel of the future for Nederlandse Spoorwegen.

“The growing market penetration of smartphones opens up new possibilities for bringing a better service to our travellers,” said van Drunen.

Reisplanner Xtra also monitors possible changes to a planned journey and alerts the user to these changes by SMS.