Rail transport in the Netherlands


Rail transport in the Netherlands uses a dense railway network which connects nearly all major towns and cities. There are more train stations than there are municipalities in the Netherlands. The network totals on of track; a line may run both ways, or two lines may run on major routes. Three-quarters of the lines have been electrified.
The Dutch rail network primarily supports passenger transport. Rail travel comprises the majority of the distance travelled on Dutch public transport. The national rail infrastructure is managed and maintained by the government agency ProRail, and a number of operators have concessions to operate their trains. The entire network is standard gauge. The Netherlands is a member of the International Union of Railways, and its country code is 84.
Most Dutch trains are equipped with Wi-Fi. They offer no onboard catering, except for a limited service on some international trains, due to the short distances involved.

Operators

Public-transport authorities in the Netherlands issue concessions for groups of lines:
  • Nederlandse Spoorwegen – services the main passenger rail network, including limited night service
  • Arriva Netherlands – services the northern secondary lines around Leeuwarden and Groningen, some eastern secondary lines around Arnhem and Zutphen, the southern secondary lines in Limburg, and one central secondary line
  • Breng – services part of an eastern secondary line with Arriva
  • Keolis Nederland – services two eastern secondary lines and a central secondary line between Amersfoort and Ede-Wageningen.
  • Qbuzz – services the MerwedeLingelijn between Dordrecht and Geldermalsen
  • NS International - services international trains and domestic high-speed service.
Foreign railway operators with NS authorization service several Dutch stations:
A common fare system applies nationwide, although operators tend to use separate tariffs. Although most trains have first- and second-class compartiments, Keolis Nederland and Arriva have second-class compartments only. The Netherlands' largest cargo carrier is DB Cargo; others include ACTS, Crossrail, ERS Railways, Häfen und Güterverkehr Köln, Rail4chem and Veolia Cargo. The network is maintained by the government-owned ProRail, which is responsible for allocating slots to companies.

Train categories

History

The Dutch National Railway Company was founded in 1837 and tasked with building the Dutch railway network. The first Dutch railway was built and opened in 1839 on a short stretch between Amsterdam and Haarlem, and was expanded between 1840 and 1847 to The Hague and Rotterdam. Originally built with a broad gauge of, it was converted to in 1866. Further 19th-century expansion connected the rest of the country. Most of the main lines were electrified during the 20th century, beginning with the Hofpleinlijn in 1908. Since 1922, after a government-commission report, a 1.5 kV DC system with an overhead line has been used.

Network

The network focuses on passenger rail and connects nearly all major cities. A few towns still lack a train station, including Nieuwegein, Drachten, Amstelveen, Oosterhout, and Katwijk.
Most freight routes run east-west, connecting the Port of Rotterdam and Koninklijke Hoogovens in IJmuiden with Germany. Freight trains usually share the tracks with passenger trains; the only exception is the Betuweroute, which opened in 2007 as the first freight-only route.
The network is well-developed; no extensions are currently planned, although there is a focus on upgrading efficiency and capacity. Some sections may require an increase in maximum speed to.
Major lines have been built in recent years, including the HSL-Zuid high-speed line, the Betuweroute and the Hanzelijn, connecting the province of Flevoland with the rail hub at Zwolle.
Image:Baanvaksnelheden.png|thumb|alt=Rail map of the Netherlands|Maximum speeds, electrification and track doubling per rail section
Image:Intercitynet NL 2015.png|thumb|alt=Another map|Dutch intercity rail network
Most of the network is electrified at 1.5 kV DC, although Belgian trains – built for 3 kV DC – can run on the Dutch network at reduced power. Both the HSL-Zuid and the Betuweroute have been electrified at 25 kV AC; although conversion of existing electrified lines to 25 kV AC was considered in 1997, 2005 and 2012 at a cost of over €10 billion, a 2015 proposal is to convert to 3 kV DC at a 2017 cost of €1 billion. The higher DC voltage would reduce power losses and have faster acceleration above, so stopping trains would save seven to 20 seconds per stop.
Speed is generally limited to, but on most secondary lines the maximum speed is significantly lower. On the HSL-Zuid line, the maximum speed is. Newer lines have been built to permit higher speeds.
Trains are frequent, with one or two trains per hour on lesser lines, two to four trains per hour on rural sections and up to eight or 10 trains per hour in cities. There are two types of trains: stoptreinen and InterCities, with faster long-distance service. An intermediate category began being discontinued in 2007, although regional operators continue to use the term. Sneltrein and InterCity service were very similar.
All railways in the Netherlands are, and they have a total length of 3,061 route kilometers. In 2001, were electrified at 1,500 V DC. Only is single track. The country has 2,589 level crossings, of which 1,598 are protected. The system has 7,071 switch tracks, 12,036 signals, 725 rail viaducts, 455 rail bridges, and 15 tunnels.
ProRail maintains Dutch rail infrastructure, allocating rail capacity, and traffic control. Capacity supplied by ProRail is used by five public-transport operators and the cargo operators DB Schenker, ERS, ACTS and Rail4Chem. There are also small operators such as the seven-carriage Herik Rail, which can be chartered for parties and meetings.

New lines

  • Betuweroute: freight line from Rotterdam to Germany, electrified at 25 kV AC
  • Hemboog, between Schiphol/Amsterdam-Lelylaan and Zaandam, bypassing the crossing at Amsterdam Sloterdijk It provides a direct connection between Schiphol and Zaandam/Hoorn.
  • Gooiboog, between Hilversum/Naarden-Bussum and Almere Muziekwijk
  • Utrechtboog, between Schiphol/Amsterdam-Rai and Bijlmer/Utrecht, bypassing the crossing at Duivendrecht
  • HSL-Zuid, electrified at 25 kV AC
  • Lelystad–Zwolle railway : Lelystad-Dronten-Kampen-Zwolle
  • Rebuilt Maastricht-Lanaken line
Two stations have a bi-level crossing, rather than a level or double junction requiring protection by signals: Amsterdam Sloterdijk and Duivendrecht. Other Dutch line crossings have grade separations.

Non-electrified lines

The following figure is the timetable number:
  • Groningen-Delfzijl
  • Groningen-Roodeschool
  • Groningen-Nieuweschans Grens
  • Leeuwarden-Groningen
  • Leeuwarden-Harlingen
  • Leeuwarden-Stavoren
  • Almelo-Marienberg
  • Zutphen-Hengelo
  • Enschede-Glanerbrug Grens
  • Zutphen-Apeldoorn
  • Zutphen-Winterswijk
  • Arnhem-Winterswijk
  • Arnhem-Tiel
  • Nijmegen-Roermond

    Rolling stock of [Nederlandse Spoorwegen]

N.S. have a variety of rolling stock. Intercity trains have a yellow-and-blue colour scheme, and local trains are blue, white and yellow.

Current fleet

Links with adjacent countries

The Dutch network has several cross-border sections to Belgium and Germany. Terneuzen is linked to Belgium, but not to the rest of the Dutch network; Lanaken was at one time connected to Maastricht, but not to the Belgian network. Seven cross-border links are electrified. Due to voltage differences, trains must change single-voltage locomotives at Bad Bentheim or Venlo; Belgian 3 kV trains reach Roosendaal and Maastricht with reduced power under the Dutch 1.5 kV. The HSL Zuid has no voltage change at the border. Multi-system train units or diesel traction are also used. Several border crossings are disused or freight-only, and there are no gauge breaks at any of the crossings.
To Germany, north to south:
To Belgium, east to west: