This will happen soon with the screens at Zoetermeer station

Are the information screens at Zoetermeer station suddenly broken? You could think so if you stared at such a schedule with departure times at the end of October. But no: the TVs are not, and you have not forgotten to drop off your sunglasses.

NS has switched to the screens The Dark Side. In other words: they will be on dark mode from the end of October. Hello Darkness, My Old Friend…

Dark mode

Until then, NS tries different types of designs. “Small adjustments are still being made and tests are carried out to determine the final design,” says NS spokesperson Bram de Regt. “Tests have already been done to see if the signs for people with a visual impairment are more visible. That turned out to be the case.”

Another reason for the transformation: power savings. Bram says: “With the transition to dark mode, 5 percent electricity is saved. If ProRail has replaced all signs, that will happen from next year, it can amount to 30 percent less power consumption.”

All stations

The monitors not only change at Zoetermeer station: it concerns screens from all stations in the Netherlands, including those of the regional carriers. The TVs in station halls also get a dark mode.