How do you craft a captivating podcast journey for young train travelers?
For the Dutch Railways, we have created a fiction podcast, with a focus on young people aged 12 to 18. But of course, everyone is welcome to tune in.
In the Dutch podcast Het Spoor Bijster (“Losing Track"), journalism student Naomi Bijster is approached one day by an unknown man at Utrecht Central Station. She finds a mysterious booklet and together with classmate Olaf, they embark on a train adventure through the Netherlands. Following the leads from the booklet, they travel across the country in search of something.
A podcast about making contact in an individualistic world
In the Dutch podcast Het Spoor Bijster (“Losing Track"), journalism student Naomi Bijster is approached one day by an unknown man at Utrecht Central Station. She finds a mysterious booklet and together with classmate Olaf, they embark on a train adventure through the Netherlands. Following the leads from the booklet, they traverse the entire country in search of something.
Train journeys are ideal for listening to podcasts. Whether you spend ten minutes in a Sprinter or an hour in an Intercity: there is always a podcast to keep you entertained along the way. Put in your earphones and go. There is also another side to this, as the podcast shows: of course, nothing beats real human contact. In particular, the podcast focuses on making contact with people with dementia. Although it is often difficult to understand what is going on, the main characters in the story show that it is indeed possible to make contact with someone with dementia. In fact, the young generation is drawn into the warm memories and loving relationship of a man with dementia and his partner.
A new way to show how fun and adventurous traveling by train can be
The Dutch railways, NS, was one of the first organizations in the Netherlands to have a scripted podcast produced with its own company as the backdrop. The trains and stations form a natural stage for special encounters, forgotten mysteries and recovered memories. The podcast is an experiment for NS, a new way to show how fun and adventurous traveling by train can be.
With the podcast, NS focuses on young people aged 12-18. This age group is going out alone for the first time to discover the world, with the train as a logical means of transport. Moreover, this age group is once again embracing the power of stories, young adult books are scarce, and their interest in podcasts is increasing. We have also teamed up with a new maker for this new way: screenwriter Janna Grosfeld graduated from the Film Academy in Amsterdam in 2021. The voices belong to professional actors as well as amateurs and NS members.
The podcast in numbers