Smoking is being banned gradually in .nl, starting with public buildings in the early 2000s, and any place where employees work shortly after that. It wasn’t that smoking was being prohibited, but any employee had to be given a smoke-free work environment. Many companies banned smoking completely.

One areas of business was exempt: bars (and coffee shops).

Trainside smoking

Quite a big controversy at the time, Dutch Railways NS were quick to ban all smoking on all trains. This was the only way there were able to guarantee a smoke-free work environment for their employees. You always had smoke free train compartments, but early 2001 all trains were entirely smoke free. There was initial protest, but that quickly faded.

With the ban on smoking in trains came the rookzuilen (smoke pillars) on platforms. Just a big metal stick with a hole for the buds, this is where all the addicts now gather to smoke a quick one before boarding the train. The smookzuilen and rookzones surrounding them are on every platform.

Smoking in bars

Always the last ones to go, bars and restaurants have been able to stave off a smoking ban until July 2008. It was current (2008) minister of health Ab Klink who forced them to become smoke-free. There was outrage! Restaurateurs would lose their livelihoods! Nanny state! But July came and went and the hospitality business did not collapse. Which is what you might have expected, since that has not happened in the countries surrounding us, either. In fact, the ban is hugely succesful thoughout the continent.

There is one odd situation: smoking is also banned in “coffee shops” (i.e. marihuana places).

Bong OK, cigarette bad!

Our current set of laws has created the strange situation where smoking a plain cigarette is illegal inside a coffee shop. Smoking a joint is illegal too, since a joint contains both tobacco and marihuana. But smoking pure weed is fine! And smoking through a bong is fine too! And smoking marihuana through an evaporator is fine as well! No wonder tourists come here in amazement. I am not sure how long this situation is allowed to last, but aforementioned minister Klink has been unable to ban smoking of marihuana.

It is rumoured that public health inspectors have been trained to spot the difference between a pure-weed cigarette and a joint. Booyaa!

Some vestiges of smoker-power have remained. Smoking in your own house is fine, for now. Smoking in bars with a smoke-free zone (for employees!) is allowed as well. Smoking outside is OK too, although even this is being protested. As everywhere else, a smoker is simply doomed. There are now more non-smokers than smokers in .nl and the ratio will only increase over time. If only because smokers, errr, die earlier…

Most Dutch trains are operated by Nederlandse Spoorwegen. They used to be a government service, but were half-way privatized in the nineties. What this means is that they were split in half: a division selling tickets and operating trains, and a division maintaining the tracks (ProRail). The idea is/was that a privatized company would be able to cut costs and run more efficiently than a state-owned service.

This idea worked to a certain extent. Around the beginning of the millenniunm, service was abysmal. Trains would be too late by default and the two divisions would point blame at each other. There was even a time where trains alledgedly could not run because of autumn leaves. In recent years this has changed. More trains are now in operation, especially in the center of the country, and they are often on time. How does travelling by train work?

Buying a ticket

Your first instinct might be to purchase a ticket at the counter of a station. You might be in for a surprise, since smaller stations have no ticket office any longer, and even large stations have just a few. If I recall correctly, the largest station Utrecht Centraal has about five counters. These are not for buying tickets, as you’d have imagined. They are for “service” (whatever that means). You buy your ticket at a vending machine, which are everywhere.

You need to have this ticket prior to boarding the train. As far as tickets go, you have the obvious choices: first class, second class and one-way/two-way. You can also get day-tickets at the machine, and round trips. Discount options are available too, although the most interesting option is for Dutch people only. With a ‘voordeelurenkaart’ you get 40% off during non-peak hours. The other options are day- or weektickets with unlimited travel. Small children travel free; bigger children have their own discounted ticket called Railrunner.

It used to be that you could buy tickets in the train with the conductor. This is no longer the case: they will happily sell you a ticket but a fine of €35 is included as well. With an additional €50 if you cannot show picture ID. Booyaa!

Teh speedie

Various types of trains cross the country. Between large cities ride Intercities (yep, the English word is used). These only stop at big stations and go reasonably fast: 130 kph. These are often quite spacious, long and actually comfy. A train that makes more stops is called a sneltrein (“fast train“); this type doesn’t stop at the tinyest stations, but is otherwise pretty slow. You never take a sneltrein if there is an intercity service to your destination as well. Then at the bottom of the food chain is a stoptrein. This one stops at all stations. You definitely dont want to take one of these if you can avoid it. On the other hand, they do lend themselves to a taking quiet nap.

No train has catering these days. Students will walk intercities with a tank of coffee on their backs. The stuff is fine for instant coffee, but otherwise nothing special. Gypsies playing music and homeless people are not allowed in the trains; they are fairly rare now but you will most often meet them between stations Amsterdam Amstel and Duivendrecht (seems to be safest for them). Other forms of entertainment are people calling on their mobile and the latest craze: loud music from a phone or iPod with speakers.

Once the conductor comes, you present your ticket. She puts a stamp on it and you’re done. Sometimes, teams of people will do routine checks about what types of tickets are travelling the train. You show them your ticket, but they don’t stamp it–they just mark the type you have in a hand held computer.