General
In 1992 Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS, Dutch Railways) started a trial with a smart card. This smart card was a replacement for the paper train tickets. NS received a grant for the trial from the ministry of Ecomical Affairs.
Employees of NS tested the electronic tickets and gates at stations in Utrecht, Maarssen and Tiel. The trial was succesfull. NS announced in 1993 that the smart card would be in use by 1998.
