Last update for this page: 2 January 2002.
National Railway System: NV Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS), which operates through various subsidiary companies, including:
Railinfrabeheer (track and infrastructure) and Verkeersleiding (Traffic control) were formerly subsidiaries of NS but are now under the responsibility of the minister of transport.
NS Cargo operates as a joint freight venture with DB AG's freight division.
Railned BV is a public authority responsible for safety, network capacity and the national ticketing and fares system.
Language: Dutch. Some station names in Friesland province have recently been replaced by names in the Friesian language. For instance, Hardegarijp has become Hurdegaryp. NS, like all Dutch authorities, decline to use bilingual signs or entries.
Currency: Euro
UIC code: 84
Timetable: The Spoorboekje is issued annually. Brief notes about use of the timetable are in English, French and German, but it is otherwise entirely in Dutch. Timetable numbers are suffixed 'a' and 'b' to distinguish the direction of trains show, for example 75a is Zwolle to Kampen and 75b is Kampen to Zwolle. Many lines appear in more than one table, in order to show through services to different parts of the country. Some timetable columns show more than one train. If this is the case times for one are shown in blue and for the other in red. A few bus and ferry services are included. A fold-out route diagram in the timetable, with an enlargement of the area around Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Utrecht, shows all stations.
Gauge: Standard.
Electrification: 1500V dc. The voltage change on the cross-border route between Maastricht and Visé (Belgium) is between Maastricht Randwyck and Eisden, so domestic travel to the latter station is at 3kV dc. New high-speed lines and the Betuwe trunk freight line between Rotterdam and Germany are to be electrified at 25kV 50Hz: an initial section between Europoort and Maasvlakte was energised for test purposes in 2000. The Houten tram service is 600V dc, but this may be a short-term arrangement.
Rule of the road: Right, but most lines are reversibly signalled. The line from Roosendaal to the Belgian border at Essen is operated as left-hand running.
Other Railways:
The German based Bentheimer Eisenbahn AG owns and operates its trunk line from Bentheim to the border at Laarwald and a further 2km on to Coevorden. The line is freight only; there has never been any significant border crossing passenger traffic, but freight has regained importance in recent times. Coevorden effectively serves as a German rail bridgehead into the Netherlands, traffic mainly consisting of containers that are subsequently road-hauled into the northern provinces.
Private operators have franchises to work a number of local passenger services over NS lines, thus:
Many other local services are to be franchised over the next four years, but a uniform ticketing system, including NS and all franchisees, is being retained.
Lovers Rail ceased running "open access" passenger trains in the Netherlands in September 1999, but is bidding for franchised services. Some freight trains in the Netherlands are worked by "open access" operators, principally ACTS and Short Lines in partnership with Häfen und Güterverkehr Köln AG.
Tourist Lines:
Metro: Amsterdam, Rotterdam.
Trams: Amsterdam, Den Haag, Rotterdam, Utrecht. There are museum tram lines between Ouddorp and Port Zélande (near Rotterdam), between Amsterdam Haarlemmermeerstation and Amstelveen Bovenkerk and at the Nederlands Openluchtmuseum at Arnhem. There are regular spring and summer tourist operations in Rotterdam with 1930 vintage trams.
A small tram system in Houten was set up at very short notice. It is intended as a provisional service for about 3-5 years, awaiting quadrupling of track and introduction of "Randstadspoor" commuter rail service. Houten is located 10 km to the south of Utrecht. The new system is not connected to the Utrecht-Nieuwegein tramway, and it was built to different technical standards. It may be considered a tramway, or a tramcar service on railway premises. It consist of a single track alongside the mainline railway, from Houten NS Station 2 km due south to a new halt at Houten Castellum, without intermediate stops. Track and overhead is to NS heavy rail standards. Operational management is by NS, with railway ticketing only. Technically, it is operated by HTM (The Hague tramways) who supplies staff, rolling stock (ex-Hannover tramcars), and, provisionally, a mobile 600V DC substation. Staff stated that other tramcars were being rebuilt to 1500V DC, so as to utilise the standard NS overhead voltage.
Trolleybuses: Arnhem
Recent and future changes:
In May 2000 NS International, trading as ONE (= OverNight Express), introduced a mixed freight and passenger train overnight between Amsterdam and Milano. However this service has since ceased.
The line between Enschede and Gronau re-opened on 18 November 2001. It is operated by DB AG.
Extensive works are under way or recently completed to increase line capacity. These include realignment and quadrupling of lines and construction of flyovers at junctions. A four-track tunnel under the River Nieuwe Maas between Rotterdam CS and Rotterdam Zuid has replaced a double-track section over speed-restricted lifting bridges. The Hemboog line, under construction, will provide a direct connection between the Zaandam and Schiphol lines near Amsterdam Sloterdijk. This is due to open in 2003.
A high speed line is being built from Antwerpen to Amsterdam, to link with the French and Belgian high speed network.
The Betuwe line is a trunk freight railway under construction from Rotterdam to Emmerich. A short section has been completed in Rotterdam Port and the entire line is scheduled for completion in 2005.
The "Iron Rhine" freight line between Roermond and Dalheim (Germany) is to be re-opened for traffic between Antwerpen and the Ruhr. Completion has been delayed and is not likely before the end of 2002.
Special notes:
Many trains worked by multiple units split en route to serve more than one destination. External displays may show the destination of each portion; newer train sets are provided with internal displays as well. The number of each unit is displayed prominently in each carriage and when trains divide public address announcements usually refer to these to inform passengers where each unit is going.
Trein-Taxi tickets include a taxi from/to the railway station for a fixed fare. The Spoorboekje lists stations at which this facility is available and places to which the trein-taxi will operate. It is not available in Amsterdam, Den Haag and Rotterdam. When riding on single or return tickets, trein-taxi tickets should be bought at the departure station, but conductors will also sell them without penalty charge. For the return trip by taxi, tickets must be bought in advance.
The freight line to Terneuzen is accessible only from Gent in Belgium.
Maps: The "Spoorkaart van Nederland", published by NS, shows the passenger railway system superimposed on a 1:300000 general map of the country.
Last complete update 7/23 November 1999; minor update 5 December 1999; "timetable maps" added (11 January 2000); ZLSM details updated (7 May 2000); Language note added (27 November 2000); general updates (18 February 2001, 23 April 2001, 9 December 2001); Currency updated (2 January 2002).
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