According to research carried out by the Dutch authorities, for a waiting person, time passes three times slower than usual, and waiting at the station seems longer than sitting in a carriage. In addition, small commuter train stations, where there are often no facilities or personnel, are often unpleasant and even unsafe, and existing facilities (ticket vending machines, etc.) are regularly "victims" of vandals.
The answer to this problem was the Prettig Wachten program - "pleasant waiting", in which small buildings with Wi-Fi, a TV, and an infrastructure facility - for example, a flower shop or a bicycle repair workshop, are being erected at 20 stations, whose employees will also keep order and cleanliness throughout the station.
Barneveld-Nord Station, designed by NL Architects, is a popular type of container structure, but here they are complemented by a fully glazed first floor - with a small waiting room and a coffee shop.
The main feature of the station is a 12-meter tower with a clock and a weather vane on the roof, which is quite a railway station in terms of scale and appearance. However, it is not the golden cockerel that serves as the weather vane, but the chicken: it reminds us that Barneveld is known as the “egg capital” of the Netherlands. However, the tower also has a utilitarian purpose: it houses a public toilet with a glass ceiling.
