Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS) is the main passenger rail service in the Netherlands. As part of its services, it operates, manages, and develops all train station areas in collaboration with various partners. In these partnerships, exchanging information about the use of the premises is key. Every year, NS carries out a manual count of all the cars parked at its 400 train stations—a process that's both time-consuming and expensive. Could NS use new technologies to make this task more efficient?

NS is keen to explore the use of new technologies, so they’ve signed up for Emixa’s annual Advanced Data & Analytics Hackathon. During the initial discussions, our team of consultants worked with NS to evaluate several ideas. The concept of automating the counting of parking space usage emerged as the most promising in terms of both added value and feasibility. With the data and technologies available, could we create a working prototype in under 48 hours? The answer: yes, we can!

Information on car parking utilisation rates can now be collected automatically and more frequently. This will help NS finetune its car parking facilities and further improve its train stations’ facilities, together with its partners.