From Monday Amsterdam Central Station’s main concourse will only be accessible to people with a valid travel card. The move is part of a wider NS strategy to improve safety and stop people travelling without paying the fare.

Until now the ticket barriers have been open, meaning people can pass through without a ticket or OV chipcard. Rail operator NS has been closing the gates at main stations across the country such as Rotterdam and Utrecht over the past year.

People who are seeing off friends and relatives, or want to reach the shops on the concourse, will not be charged if they check in and out within an hour – but they will still need to have enough credit on their OV chipcard for a journey in order to pass through the gates.

NS said that closing the gates was an essential measure to reduce fare dodging, which it says is one of the main causes of aggression and violence on the trains. By the end of the year ticket barriers will be closed at 74 of the 400 stations, affecting 87% of passengers.