Via Weener border (for travelling with Arriva)
Via Gronau border (for travelling with DB Regio)
Via Emmerich border (for travelling with VIAS)
Via Herzogenrath border (for travelling with Arriva)
You may travel with any carrier on the chosen route. Make sure you check out with any other carrier before checking in with NS. This is because the moment you take the train in the Netherlands, with which you then cross the border, you must be checked in with NS. Once back in the Netherlands, you must check out with NS before continuing your journey with any other carrier.
Make sure you have a valid ticket for the Belgian/German part of your journey. During ticket control, you must be able to show the Dutch and foreign ticket. This ticket allows you to check in and out with the carrier in question. There are also OV-chip poles at stations across the border for this purpose. You do not have to check in or out at the border point.
You can travel with a 40% discount during off-peak hours on routes not included in your Traject Vrij subscription. You will need to do the following:
For the foreign part of your journey there are several subscriptions available that can combined with NS Flex Traject Vrij.
Do you frequently travel from Roosendaal or Maastricht? You also have the possibility to purchase a subscription from NMBS. For the first purchase, you must go to a counter of the NMBS. After that, the renewals can be retrieved via internet or the NMBS ticket vending machines which can also be found at Roosendaal and Maastricht station. It is possible to pay with Dutch debit cards at these ticket vending machines.
Do you only travel to Belgium occasionally and have an NS subscription? Then we recommend buying an international ticket online for your entire train journey. That is: from your boarding station in the Netherlands to your final destination in Belgium. When doing so, please indicate which discount (40% or 100% discount) you are entitled to during your journey.
Find out more about discounts and times of your NS subscription when travelling internationally
Find out more about discounts on international train journeys