Rapid transit in the Netherlands

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Structure

The Rotterdam metro network as of February 2018.

The Amsterdam metro network as of 2018.

The Dutch metro lines can be found in three locations, two of which are cities. These are Amsterdam, Rotterdam and the Randstad. The lines are all a hybrid in between metro and light rail networks, running mostly overground in the suburbs, but underground in the main cities. Rotterdam has the second-busiest metro network of the BeNeLux, right behind Brussels. The networks of Amsterdam and Rotterdam together transport a total of 3.5 million people per week, or half a million per day.

Amsterdam

The Amsterdam Metro services Amsterdam alongside Amstelveen, Diemen and Duivendrecht. Being opened October 14th of 1977, it now consists of four lines, all of which are mostly overground, with only the parts around Amsterdam Centraal railway station and near Wibautstraat, which is a part of lines 51, 52 and 54, is underground. The Amsterdam metro spans a total of 42.5 kilometres (26.4 miles) and is serviced by GVB, which also services busses, trams and ferries in Amsterdam.

Rotterdam

The Rotterdam metro is the largest metro network of the Netherlands, spanning 78.3 kilometres (48.7 miles) from Hoek van Holland in the west to The Hague in the north and Spijkenisse in the south. It counts a total of 62 stations, divided over five lines and serviced with 148 vehicles. The network is also the oldest metro network of the Netherlands, being opened on February 9th of 1968. The network is serviced by RET (Rotterdamse Elektrische Tram).

RandstadRail

Calling RandstadRail a metro system is somewhat misleading, as the network is entirely overground. RandstadRail consists of four overground lines in between The Hague and Rotterdam. One of these lines, line E, is part of the Rotterdam metro. The network does not connect to the Amsterdam metro network, however. The aim of RandstadRail is to ease the tension of motorized traffic on the Randstad area by making public transit more attractive to the travellers. RandstadRail is serviced by HTM and RET.

Background

Building the Rotterdam Metro

Erasmuslijn

Queen Beatrix and Prince Claus at the opening of the Erasmuslijn in 1968.

The first Rotterdam metro line was the first in all of the Netherlands, being also one of the smallest networks of the world at opening, consisting of a mere 5.9 kilometres (3.7 mi) between the Rotterdam Centraal railway station and the Linker Maasoever (South Rotterdam). The network was opened on February 9th, 1968 by the then Queen Beatrix and Prince Claus, along with the then mayor of Rotterdam, Wim Thomassen. The opening ride went from Rotterdam Centraal to Zuidplein. Costs of the project, started in 1960, came down to 170 million guilders, or 77 million euros in today's money, along with an additional 9 million euros for additional works. To introduce the new mode of transport to the people of Rotterdam, everyone was given a ticket for a single free trip by metro.

In 1970, two years after the line was set in service, the first expansions started, expanding the first line from Zuidplein, the then terminus, to Slinge. In 1974 Slinge would be replaces with Zalmplaat (Hoogvliet) as the southern terminus of the line. This expansion, taking place within ten years of introduction, nearly doubled the length of the network. The Rotterdam metro has always ran on a third-rail system on a closed-off track, with nearly all of it at ground level.

The Noord-Zuidlijn as the network at this point is called (not to be confused with the Amsterdam Noord/Zuidlijn, due to be completed in 2018), was renamed to Erasmuslijn in 1997, being named after Desiderius Erasmus, a Dutch Renaissance humanist and theologian. Erasmus at that point has a bridge (Erasmusbrug), university (Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam) and hospital (Erasmus Medisch Centrum) named after him, all in his city of Rotterdam. The line would lose this name again in 2010, with the current system being adopted, with the then two lines,  D  between Rotterdam Centraal and Spijkenisse De Akkers and  E  from Den Haag Centraal to Slinge via Rotterdam Centraal.

In 2007, the then Erasmuslijn was extended to the Hofplein in The Hague, with the connection to Rotterdam Centraal being put in service in August of 2010. In December of 2011, that line was extended to Slinge.

The Rotterdam Metro's Noord-Zuidlijn moved some 145.000 people per day in 2013. With the central part of the line between Rotterdam Centraal and Slinge being the busiest part with some 100.000 travellers per day. The most used stations are Beurs, Rotterdam Centraal, Zuidplein and Wilhelminaplein with all over 10.000 travellers per day. The link between Rotterdam and The Hague saw 30.000 passengers per day in 2014.

Calandlijn

Construction of the Calandlijn in 1979.

In May of 1982, the second metro line of Rotterdam was opened, linking Capelsebrug with Coolhaven. The line was extended to Binnenhof in May of the following year. All of the network was a ground-level sneltram service. The line was extended again from Coolhaven to Marconiplein in April of 1986, from Capelsebrug to Capelle a/d IJssel De Terp in May of 1994, and extended with the Beneluxline from Marconiplein to Hoogvliet via Schiedam and Pernis in 2002. At Hoogvliet, the Calandlijn met the Erasmuslijn. The line was last extended in 2005, connecting to the newly built neighbourhood of Nesselande. The 1,500 metres (1,600 yd) long extension uses a third rail system like the Erasmuslijn whereas the rest of the Calandlijn has an overhead power supply. The line was named Calandlijn in 1994 after Pieter Caland, responsible for the creation of the Nieuwe Waterweg, a canal from the Nieuwe Maas river (New Meuse) to the North Sea.

With the 2010 changes to the network, the Calandlijn lost its name and was changed into three separate lines,  A  from Binnenhof to Schiedam Centrum,  B  from Nesselande to Schiedam Centrum and  C  from De Terp in Capelle aan den IJssel to De Akkers.

The Calandlijn moved 175.000 people each day in 2013, with the Schiedam Centrum to Capelsebrug section being the busiest, seeing 120.000 people each day. The most used stations are Beurs, Blaak, Kralingse Zoom, Schiedam Centrum and Dijkzigt, all seeing more than 10.000 travellers pass through each day. The Schiedam Centrum to Hoek van Holland Haven, which is postponed to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2018 (and may not even connect to Hoek van Holland Haven but Hoek van Holland instead due to financial problems), is expected to give an additional 20.000 travellers on the network.

Building the Amsterdam Metro

Construction of the Noord/Zuidlijn in 2011, underneath the Damrak.

In 1968, the mayor and councilors of Amsterdam proposed the idea of a phased construction of a metro network to connect all parts of the capital city. Their expectation was that the network would be completed around the turn of the century 32 years later. Construction of the Amsterdam Metro started in 1970 when secretary of state Mike Keyzer drove the first pole into the ground at the Rhijnspoorplein. Meanwhile on the Juliaplein, opposite of the Amstelstation (Amsterdam Amstel ArenA railway station), a coordination centre is opened from which the metro's construction is coordinated, as well as exhibited to the public.

The first test rides took place as early as 1973, after the budget set aside for the project was exceeded several times over. There was talk of the NS running Sprinter trains on the lines, but eventually the GVB was set to run the metros on the lines. The first part of the lines was put in use in 1977.

Priority was then set to building the Waterlooplein station, to match the plans for the construction of a new town hall, named the Stopera. The building would feature both the city hall (Dutch: Stadhuis) and Opera, hence Stopera. In hindsight, this ended up being unnecessary, as the construction of the Stopera was delayed to start in the eighties.

The construction of the underground part under the Nieuwmarktbuurt went hand in hand with an en masse destruction for a city-shaping plan and the construction of a highway. The destruction wasn't popular, and squatters soon took residence in the buildings that were bound to be destroyed. The neighbourhood itself has a mostly Jewish population before the Second World War. As the buildings had been worn down a lot ever since the Jewish population disappeared, its insides being scrapped for firewood during the Hongerwinter (Dutch Winter Famine) of 1945. The squatters that didn't want the buildings to be levelled to the ground, put up a fight which resulted in the Nieuwmarktrellen (Nieuwmarkt Revolts) as well as a failed bombing attempt in 1975, which would have served to discredit the squatters.

The municipal board decided in the same year that, instead of ending the line where they were at that time and continuing overground, they should continue digging the lines that they had started, to not expand the network after that. The only expansion that was left possible was one that would connect to Schiphol Airport.

The word Metro has been a taboo in Amsterdam since. The word would only return once plans for the Noord/Zuidlijn came out, which, after a referendum in 1997, ended up being terribly unpopular amongst Amsterdammers, though, due to the low amount of citizens that showed up to vote, the referendum had no effect on the plans, and building the fifth line started. The Noord/Zuidlijn is to be completed sometime in 2018 after having been postponed a lot.

Services

Amsterdam Centraal metro station.

Amsterdam

Amsterdam's metro network consists of five lines, of which four connect to the Amsterdam Centraal railway station.

• Line 50 starts at Isolatorweg, connecting to Amsterdam Sloterdijk railway station, joining lines 51 and 52 at Amsterdam Zuid railway station, continuing via Amsterdam RAI railway station to Overamstel, continuing via Duivendrecht railway station to Amsterdam Bijlmer ArenA railway station, Holendrecht railway station to Gein.
• Line 51 starts at Amsterdam Centraal railway station, travelling via Weesperplein to Spaklerweg, to run alongside line 50 up from Overamstel to Amsterdam Zuid railway station, after which the line turns south, connecting all of Amstelveen terminating at Westwijk.
• Line 52, upon completion in 2018, will start at Amsterdam Zuid railway station, after which it tuns directly to Amsterdam Centraal only stopping at De Pijp, Vijzelgracht and Rokin. After Amsterdam CS, line 52 has two more stops at Noorderpark and Noord.
• Line 53 starts at Amsterdam CS, continuing alongside line 51 up to Spaklerweg, after which it follows line 50 in the opposite direction from how line 51 follows line 50, connecting to Van der Madeweg, before heading into Diemen terminating at Gaasperplas after having travelled through Diemen via its railway station.
• Line 54 starts at Amsterdam CS, following the tracks of lines 51 and 53, following the latter until it meets with line 50 at Van der Madeweg, following line 50 until its terminus at Gein.

Rotterdam

Rotterdam Centraal metro station

Rotterdam's network consists of five lines as of February 2018, with Beurs being the central stop that all lines service:

• Line  A  runs from Binnenhof, north of the Kralingse Bos to Vlaardingen West, visiting Schiedam Centrum, Beurs, Blaak, Capelsebrug, Alexander and Graskruid.
• Line  B  runs from Binnenhof, north of the Kralingse Bos to Vlaardingen West, visiting the same route as line A, but terminating in Nesselandse near Nieuwerkerk aan de IJssel in the east instead of Binnenhof, and continuing west to the ferry terminals and the beach at Hoek van Holland.
• Line  C  services from Terp to De Akkers, servicing Capelsebrug, Blaak, Beurs, Schiedam Centrum and Tussenwater.
• Line  D  starts at Rotterdam Centraal railway station, going south via the town hall (Stadhuis), Beurs, Zuidplein and Tussenwater, terminating with line C at De Akkers.
• Line  E  runs partly the same route as line D and is a part of the RandstadRail network. Starting at Slinge, the line calls at Zuidplein, Beurs, Centraal, Pijnacker, Leidschendam-Voorburg before terminating at Den Haag Centraal.

Randstad Area

ZoRo-bus (line 170)

The Netkous, named this way as the shape reminds of a net stocking.

RandstadRail has four lines, two of which are tram lines, one is line E of the Rotterdam Metro, and one is known as the ZoRo-bus, a bus connecting Zoetermeer with Rodenrijs. The bus runs on a bus-only road on the entirety of the line. Americans might know this concept as "Bus Rapid Transit" (BRT). The following lines service the RandstadRail network:

• Line  3  starts at the Arnold Spoelplein in The Hague, meeting line 12 near Goudenregenstraat, and diverting from the line again a stop later. The line then meets line 11 near Van Speijkstraat, meeting tram 2 and RandstadRail 4 before HMC Westeinde, going underground after meeting line 6 after Brouwersgracht, visiting the centre of The Hague at stops Grote Markt and Spui, continuing on to The Hague Centraal railway station, travelling through the Netkous, meeting metro line E after it, connecting to Laan van NOI railway station shortly after. Afterwards line 3 connects to Leidschendam-Voorburg and Leidschenveen, at which point the tram will have become a sneltram (fast tram) service, continuing on to Centrum-West where the line terminates.
• Line  4  starts at the Uithof, running alongside tram 6 for a while around Leyenburg, meeting tram 2 after Dierenselaan, meeting RandstadRail 3 just before HMC Westeinde, after which it follows the same line as RandstadRail 3 up to Seghwaert, continuing for three more stops, terminating at Javalaan before late 2018, and terminating at Lansingerland-Zoetermeer railway station per late 2018.
• Line  E  connects The Hague with Rotterdam. For a more thorough coverage of the line, see the Rotterdam section above.
• Line  170  connects Zoetermeer with Rodenrijs Metro located on line E almost directly.

Stations

Amsterdam

• 1  NS  Amsterdam Centraal . Main metro hub of the city, connects with international trains, amongst which the Thalys and ICE. 
• 2 Nieuwmarkt . 
• 3 Waterlooplein . 
• 4  NS  Amstelstation . Connects to Sprinter and Intercity trains. Smaller hub for trams and busses. 
• 5  NS  Bijlmer ArenA . Near the Amsterdam ArenA and AFAS Live, connects to Sprinter and Intercity trains. 
• 6 Holendrecht . Small bus hub, connects to Sprinter trains. 
• 7 Gein . Terminus of lines 50 and 54. 
• 8  NS  RAI . 
• 9  NS  Zuid . Terminus of line 51, connects to Sprinter and Intercity trains, connects to the tram and bus network. 
• 10  NS  Lelylaan . Connects to Sprinter trains and the bus/tram network. 
• 11 Sloterdijk . Rail hub, connects to Sprinter and Intercity trains, as well as the bus and tram network. 
• 12 Isolatorweg . Terminus of line 50. 
• 13 Diemen Zuid . Gateway into Diemen, connects to Sprinter trains and the bus and tram network. 
• 14 Gaasperplas . Terminus of line 53. 

Rotterdam and Randstad

• 15 Beurs . 
• 16  NS  Blaak . 
• 17  NS  Schiedam Centrum . 
• 18 Capelsebrug . 
• 19  NS  Rotterdam Alexander . 
• 20 Graskruid . 
• 21 Vlaardingen West . 
• 22 Binnenhof . 
• 23 Hoek van Holland Haven . 
• 24 Hoek van Holland Strand . 
• 25 Nesselande . 
• 26 Tussenwater . 
• 27 Schiedam De Akkers . 
• 28 Capelle De Terp . 
• 29  NS  Rotterdam Centraal . 
• 30 Zuidplein . 
• 31 Slinge . 
• 32 Blijdorp . 
• 33 Rodenrijs . 
• 34 Pijnacker Centrum . 
• 35 Leidschenveen . 
• 36  NS  Den Haag Laan van NOI . 
• 37  NS  Den Haag Centraal . 

Rolling stock

Metro trains

RET 5300 at Troelstralaan .

RET 5400 stock at Schiedam Centrum .

Two coupled RET 5600 units near Schiedam.

• Metrotype B or the 5300 series, better known as the Bombardier City-Metro are currently the oldest RET stock, dating back from 1998. Currently, 63 B-types are in service. The B-type offers a total of 72 seats, along with 153 standing places.
• Metrotype S or the 5400 series was built directly after the last set of B-types was put in service, being put in service the following year, 2002. Eighteen S-types are currently in service. The S-type is a Bombardier City-Metro, like the B-type, but with several minor changes. Both types can be coupled to one another. The S-type has 64 seats, and 153 standing places.
• Metrotype R or the 5500, 5600 and 5700 series, better known as the Bombardier Flexity Swift are also used on the Rotterdam Metro network, being put in service between 2008 and 2017. The R-type has the most seats of the RET metros, counting 104 seats, along with 166 standing places.

Sneltram stock

S1/S2 stock at Westwijk, Amstelveen .

S3 stock at Sportlaan, Amstelveen .

M4 stock at Overamstel, Amsterdam .

M5 stock near Kraaiennest, Zuidoost .

HTM RegioCitadis in Leiden.