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NS and ProRail Roll Out Dark-Mode Station Boards Nationwide

The redesign targets better readability for visually impaired travelers with added energy savings.

Overview

  • All Dutch station departure boards switched to dark mode on October 27, with the nationwide change launched at Rotterdam Centraal.
  • The 1.5-year redesign, created with Oogvereniging and Visio, increases contrast, sets white text on dark backgrounds, and introduces yellow as the signaling color.
  • Accessibility advocates report reduced glare and improved legibility for people with visual impairments and those with color-vision deficiencies.
  • ProRail says current hardware yields roughly 3–4% lower power use, with potential savings of about 30% after screen replacements.
  • NS plans further tweaks to clarify delay displays and indicate wheelchair and bike locations, and it is evaluating dark mode for in-train screens without a timeline.