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Contents 1 Rail transport 1.1 Railway tracks 1.1.1 New tracks operated since December 2003 1.1.2 New lines under construction 1.1.3 Non-electrified lines 1.2 Railways for public transport 1.2.1 International trains 1.2.2 Night service 1.2.3 Off-Peak Discount Pass 2 Public transport in general 3 Other public transport 3.1 Metro 3.2 Tram / light rail 3.3 RandstadRail and other light rail projects 3.4 Bus 4 Cycle ways 5 Highways 6 Waterways 7 Pipelines 8 Ports and harbors 9 Merchant marine 10 Airports 11 Ministry 12 See also 13 References 14 External links 14.1 Maps showing all streets and also public transport

The Netherlands has an extensive and much-used railway network, which connects virtually all cities and many towns with each other. (Large towns without a train station are well aware of this status, e.g. Katwijk and Amstelveen.) Trains are frequent, with one or two trains per hour on lesser lines, two to four trains per hour on most lines in the country and up to 8 or 10 trains an hour between the big cities. Trains are divided into two categories: stoptreinen (local trains, which call at all stations; these are called Sprinters on some lines) and intercities, which provide fast connections between the bigger cities. A former intermediate category of sneltreinen (fast trains) was dissolved in 2007. The railways of the Netherlands are all standard gauge (1.435 m)^[1], and they sum up to a total of 2809 route-kilometers or 6505 track-kilometers. 2061 kilometers are electrified (2001) at 1500 volt DC (see w:nl:Elektrificatie#Nederland). Only 931 km is single track. The country counts 3,004 level crossings, of which 2,144 are protected.

ProRail takes care of maintenance and extensions of the national railway network infrastructure (but excluding metros and trams, for which see below), allocating rail capacity, and traffic control. The rail capacity supplied by ProRail is used by five public transport operators (see below) as well as cargo operators: Railion, ERS, ACTS, Rail4Chem. Aside from these, there are a few tiny operators, amongst whom for example Herik Rail, with seven carriages, where trains can be chartered for parties, meetings, etc.^[2]

• Hemboog between Schiphol/Amsterdam-Lelylaan and Zaandam, bypassing the crossing at Amsterdam Sloterdijk.^[3] It provides a direct connection between Schiphol and Zaandam/Hoorn. Technically it also allows for a direct train service from Schiphol to Alkmaar, but such a service is not provided yet.
• Gooiboog between Hilversum/Naarden-Bussum and Almere Muziekwijk.^[4]
• Utrechtboog between Schiphol/Amsterdam-Rai and Bijlmer/Utrecht, bypassing the crossing at Duivendrecht.^[5]

• The HSL Zuid (see below)
• A freight line from Rotterdam to Germany, the Betuweroute.
• The Hanzelijn, a planned railway line Lelystad-Dronten-Kampen-Zwolle.

Two stations are located at a bilevel crossing of railway lines: Amsterdam Sloterdijk and Duivendrecht.

(with timetable number)

• Groningen-Delfzijl 84
• Groningen-Roodeschool 83
• Groningen-Nieuweschans Grens 85
• Groningen-Leeuwarden 80
• Leeuwarden-Harlingen 81
• Leeuwarden-Stavoren 82
• Zwolle-Kampen 63
• Zwolle-Wierden 65
• Almelo-Marienberg 72
• Zutphen-Hengelo 73
• Enschede-Glanerbrug Grens 522
• Zutphen-Apeldoorn 67
• Zutphen-Winterswijk 71
• Arnhem-Winterswijk 70
• Arnhem-Tiel 68
• Nijmegen-Roermond 29
• Landgraaf-Landgraaf Grens 525

• operated mainly by Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS), minor parts by NoordNed, Syntus, Connexxion, DB Regionalbahn Westfalen, and (from Dec 2004) Prignitzer Eisenbahn (PE Holding AG, Arriva) (for the latter two, see Enschede); all have a common tariff system.

Most trains have 1st and 2nd class; some local trains belonging to local railway operators NoordNed and Syntus only have 2nd class.

See also:

• Train routes in the Netherlands
• Railway stations in the Netherlands
• Trains in the Netherlands

• InterCity Amsterdam C - Schiphol Airport - The Hague HS - Rotterdam C - Dordrecht - Roosendaal - Antwerp - Berchem - Mechelen - Brussels Noord - Brussels Centraal - Brussels Zuid). Also known as the Benelux train. See also Train routes in the Netherlands#Train number series (series 600). This service will be replaced in 2008 or 2009 by the HSL-Zuid.
  • The train has a Belgian multisystem locomotive which is designed for Belgian 3000 volt DC, but can also run under the Dutch 1500 volt DC system (at reduced performance).
• Thalys^[6]: Amsterdam C - Schiphol Airport - The Hague HS - Rotterdam C - Antwerp Berchem - Brussels Midi -Paris Nord; twice a week also to Marne-La-Vallée-Chessy (Disneyland Resort Paris)
  • The train can use 1500 volt DC (Netherlands), 3000 volt DC (Belgium) and 25000 volt AC 50 Hz (France).
  • High-speed between Brussels and Paris.
  • HSL Zuid-project: a new high-speed railway is being built between Schiphol Airport and Brussels.
• Schiphol - Berlin
• ICE^[7] from Amsterdam to Frankfurt Hbf, Germany and Basel SBB, Switzerland
• CityNightLine from Amsterdam to Munich, Germany and Vienna Westbf, Austria
• InterCity Maastricht-Brussels
• There are several regional cross-border connections.^[8]

See also Rail transport by country#Europe.

There is a night service, called Nachtnet (Night Network, although it is just a single U-shaped line) with a hourly service connecting Rotterdam Central , Delft, The Hague Central, Leiden Central , Schiphol Airport, Amsterdam Central, Utrecht Central (i.e., most of the large cities in the Randstad as well as the main airport). Due to the U-shape, the travelling time from the first four stations to Utrecht is longer than during the day. (Other little map, also showing the railway line itself)

edit this map

In Dutch: Voordeelurenkaart.

For trains in the Netherlands there is an Off-Peak Discount Pass for €55/year, giving a 40% discount. Its validity starts at 09:00 AM (until 4:00 AM the next morning) on weekdays, and all day at weekends and in July and August. In the case of a group of up to four people, all get the discount even if only one has a pass.

Rail passes not requiring an additional ticket come in two versions: for a fixed route, and for the whole network. Both are mainly used by commuters. No off-peak discount version of these passes is offered since there is insufficient demand; commuters usually cannot avoid the rush hour.

Metros and trams usually run from around 06:00 until midnight. There are night buses in a number of cities, but only on Friday and Saturday night in the smaller ones. Sometimes these will only run during the first part of the night, or in one direction only; e.g. the Connexxion-Niteliner.

A public transport pass for train (2nd class), bus, metro and tram OV-Jaarabonnement (nl) costs 3470 euro/year (2007). It is also valid on the ferries Vlissingen-Breskens, Amsterdam-IJmuiden and Rotterdam-Dordrecht. It is not valid on most other ferries, nor on the Thalys. Night services by train are included, those by bus are not.

The pass will not be valid on the HSL-Zuid.

All metros and trams and almost all buses share the National Tariff System (nl) . For buses exceptions are:

• neighborhood buses (small 8-person vans driven by mostly elderly volunteers in lowly populated areas; operated by bus companies but with different tariff system)
• night buses
• some bus services that are mainly for pleasure, such as serving an amusement park or beaches, e.g.:
  • special summer bus service from Zandvoort train station to the south side (near the nude beach) and to Bloemendaal aan Zee

(all standard gauge (1.435 m))

• Amsterdam, Diemen, Ouder-Amstel, operated by Gemeentelijk Vervoerbedrijf (GVB) (GVB site, Urbanrail site)
  • power 750 volt DC
• Rotterdam, Schiedam, Spijkenisse, Albrandswaard, Capelle aan den IJssel, operated by Rotterdamse Electrische Tramweg Maatschappij (RET); see Rotterdam metro.(RET site, Urbanrail site)
  • power 750 volt DC
  • The eastern parts of the system have some level crossings (with priority), and could therefore be called light rail instead of metro; however, they are integrated in the system; these parts have overhead wires, while the rest has third-rail, the vehicles can handle both.

See also: Trams_in_Europe(nl)

All have standard gauge (1.435 m).

• Amsterdam, Diemen, Amstelveen, operated by GVB
  • power 600 volt DC, length appr. 85 km

• Rotterdam, Schiedam, Vlaardingen, Barendrecht operated by RET
  • lines: 2 Charlois - Lombardijen NS, 4 Molenlaan - CS - Marconiplein, 7 Willemsplein - CS - Woudestein, 8 Spangen - CS - Kleiweg, 20 Schiebroek - CS - Lombardijen, 21 Schiedam Woudhoek - CS - De Esch, 23 Vlaardingen Holy - CS - Beverwaard, 25 Schiebroek - CS - Carnisselande, total length appr. 100 km

• The Hague, Rijswijk, Leidschendam-Voorburg, Delft, Nootdorp, operated by HTM
  • power 600 volt DC, length appr. 92 km (except RandstadRail)
  • ref. e.g.: HTM LRV nl:GTL8 / D.A. Borgdorff / 2000 - ISBN 9090139354

• Utrecht, Nieuwegein, IJsselstein, operated by Connexxion (light rail in the sense of intermediate form between tram and train, with its own right-of-way, with level crossings with priority).
  • Stops for both branches: Moreelsepark - Stadsbusstation - Westplein - Graadt van Roggenweg - Ziekenhuis Oudenrijn - Vijf Meiplein - Vasco da Gamalaan - Kanaleneiland Zuid - Westraven - Zuilenstein - Batau Noord - Wijckersloot - Nieuwegein Centrum.
  • Further stops on Nieuwegein branch: Merwestein - Fokkesteeg - Wiersdijk - Nieuwegein Zuid.
  • Further stops on IJsselstein branch: St. Antonius Ziekenhuis - Doorslag - Hooge Waard - Eiteren - Clinckhoef - Achterveld.

• Houten, operated by NS (light rail tram-line, could be called "metro", though not underground, with its own right-of-way, without level crossings).
  • power 1500 volt DC (TW 6000-tram has been adapted with a so-called 'downchopper' to allow the use of this higher voltage), overhead wires
  • picture: [1]

RandstadRail (named after the Randstad agglomeration) connects Rotterdam, The Hague, Zoetermeer and the suburbs in between with each other. One line of the Rotterdam metro system now connects all the way to The Hague central station. From the south end of The Hague, two RandstadRail lines are lightrail connections to Zoetermeer. Existing tram tracks in The Hague have been adapted for the longer and wider vehicles.

The RijnGouweLijn connects Gouda and Alphen aan den Rijn, and will probably be expanded via Leiden to Katwijk.

There are plans to convert an existing railway line to light rail between Maastricht and Kerkrade, and between Dordrecht and Geldermalsen.

Both regional and city buses can be found throughout the country. Because of the extensive train system, the number of long-distance buses is limited to a few missing railway connections.

A special bus line around Amsterdam is the Zuidtangent, which has largely its own bus lane, with priority at crossings.

Route: Station Haarlem - Hoofddorp - Schiphol (railway station) - Amstelveen - Amsterdam Zuidoost

Arnhem has a trolleybus system.

Bus companies include Arriva, Connex, Connexxion, Hermes, NoordNed, Syntus.

The Netherlands have a very high amount of well-constructed bicycle lanes. Biking is a common way of transport, and there are big bicycle parkings near stations.

See Cycling in the Netherlands for further information.

total: 125,575 km
paved: 113,018 km (including 2,235 km of expressways)
unpaved: 12,557 km (1998 est.)

See List of highways in the Netherlands

5046 km, of which 47% is usable by craft of 1000 metric ton capacity or larger, see List of waterways and [2].

crude oil 418 km; petroleum products 965 km; natural gas 10,230 km

Amsterdam, Delfzijl, Den Helder, Dordrecht, Eemshaven, Groningen, Haarlem, IJmuiden, Maastricht, Rotterdam, Terneuzen, Utrecht, Vlissingen)

total: 563 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 4,035,899 GRT/4,576,841 DWT
ships by type: bulk 3, cargo 343, chemical tanker 41, combination bulk 2, container 56, liquified gas 20, livestock carrier 1, multi-functional large load carrier 8, passenger 8, petroleum tanker 25, refrigerated cargo 32, roll-on/roll-off 16, short-sea passenger 3, specialized tanker 5 (1999 est.)
note: many Dutch-owned ships are also operating under the registry of Netherlands Antilles (1998 est.)

Schiphol, the Amsterdam airport, is the main airport in the Netherlands, and the fourth largest in Europe. There are also a number of regional airports, the most popular being Eindhoven Airport, Maastricht Aachen Airport, Rotterdam Airport and Groningen Airport Eelde. See List of airports in the Netherlands

Transport in the Netherlands falls under the Dutch Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management.

• Train routes in the Netherlands
• Railway stations in the Netherlands
• Trains in the Netherlands

• Category:Roads in the Netherlands
• Category:Road transport in the Netherlands

• Transportation in Europe
• Transportation by country

• Public transport in the Netherlands:
  • http://www.9292ov.nl/
  • Planned train departures in the next hour (up to 20 trains) from 83 stations, real-time adjusted for delays
  • National Tariff System (bus, tram, metro)
  • http://homepages.cwi.nl/~dik/english/public_transport/
  • First Experiences with Tendering at the Tactical Level (Service Design) in Dutch Public Transport
• train schedules for the whole of Europe (Deutsche Bahn site)
• Netherlands light-rail projects
• Light Rail Atlas
• Public transport to beaches (zip-file) - from Den Helder to Hoek van Holland, with map showing railways and bus lines, and showing km-pole numbers, used for defining beach locations.

Railway maps:

• http://www.treinen.demon.nl/map/ns2.htm (with intercity routes colored)
• Map with distances
• http://railweb.techsite.cz/mapy/mnls.jpg (with table numbers used in the paper version of the timetable)
• http://trainspotting.buekkes.de/maps/benelux-network/benelux-network.gif - (whole Benelux, indicating single or multiple track and electrification)
• Schematic maps of all tracks, switches and platforms: http://www.sporenplan.nl/html_nl/sporenplan/ns/ns_normaal/start.html
• http://www.spoorzoeker.nu/spoorkrt/spk1850.htm - maps showing development of the railway network since the first track in 1839; see also [3].
• For railway stations and surroundings, see also Railway stations in the Netherlands#Maps.

Line maps for other public transport:

• Amsterdam [4]
• Arnhem [5] (not up-to-date)
• Dordrecht and Werkendam [6] (consists of part of the NS map mentioned below with bus lines added)
• Eindhoven [7], [8]
• Nijmegen [9]
• Renesse [10]
• Roosendaal [11]
• Rotterdam [12] [13]
• The Hague all, tram, bus
• Utrecht (city) [14]
• Zoetermeer [15]

• 18 Connexxion maps - the maps of Haarlem, Rotterdam, and Zwolle also show the bus stops.
• Arriva maps, various parts of the Netherlands
• Friesland
• East of Gelderland (Syntus)
• Limex (southwest of Limburg)
• Fast Ferry Rotterdam - Dordrecht
• Border areas (with info in Dutch)
• Coastal areas: see above.

The maps by Carto Studio's, though meant only as examples, may also be of some use.

Oddly and unfortunately, for some parts of the Netherlands bus line maps do not seem to be available on the web. However, they are often posted at bus stops and can sometimes also be obtained on paper in bus information offices (sometimes in a less detailed version, e.g. without bus stops being marked).

General map showing railways and stations well (i.e. also in smaller scales), but, oddly, without station names:

• NS rail travel planner - contains a detailed map of the whole country; to view a location, specify it as destination and choose an arbitrary point of departure, then ask for the route map of the post transport from the station. If you specify "Public transport" as means of pre or post transport, you will be redirected to http://www.ovr.nl with the corresponding map.

General maps showing railways well, but stations only in larger scales,

• Multimap - with station names
• Vialys - with station names popping up

General map showing railways well, but stations only when highly zoomed in, and no station names:

• Yellow pages / Telephone directory - A map (plattegrond) is provided after searching for a company or person; if one just wants to use the map, do an arbitrary search like [16], select Plattegrond and by zooming out and selecting an area to zoom in go to any part of the map.

Of these three, only the NS map shows metro lines, without stations, and none show tram or bus lines. www.ovr.nl shows only the single bus stop concerned on the map, not the line or the other stops.

For general maps see also Geography of the Netherlands. There are hardly any maps on Internet that show virtually all streets as well as tram or bus lines (the maps of Dordrecht and Werkendam mentioned above seem to be the only ones, with on the latter not all lines). However, such maps are available on paper for many cities.

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