Den Haag Centraal railway station

Den Haag Centraal
Station statistics
Coordinates	52°4′54″N 4°19′45″E / 52.08167°N 4.32917°E / 52.08167; 4.32917Coordinates: 52°4′54″N 4°19′45″E / 52.08167°N 4.32917°E / 52.08167; 4.32917
Lines	Gouda–Den Haag railway
Platforms	10
Other information
Opened	1973
Code	Gvc
Owned by	Nederlandse Spoorwegen
Location

Den Haag Centraal, main hall

Den Haag Centraal (in English: The Hague Central) is the largest train station in the Dutch city of The Hague. It is the largest terminal station in the Netherlands with 12 tracks. The station was completed in 1973, next to the older station Den Haag Staatsspoor. It is the western terminus of the Gouda–Den Haag railway.

History

The oldest station in The Hague is Den Haag Hollands Spoor on the main line from Amsterdam to Rotterdam, opened in 1843 by the Hollandsche IJzeren Spoorweg-Maatschappij (Dutch Iron Railroad Company). This station was built at some distance from the city center.

In 1870, the Nederlandsche Rhijnspoorweg-Maatschappij (Dutch Rhine-railroad Company) opened a second station in the Hague, Den Haag Rijnspoor for trains to Gouda and Utrecht. This station was built much closer to the city centre. From 1888 this railroad was the property of the Maatschappij tot Exploitatie van Staatsspoorwegen (State Railway Operation Company); the station was renamed Den Haag Staatsspoor.

In the 1970s, Nederlandse Spoorwegen decided to build Centraal Station in The Hague. The best location seemed to be the Hollands Spoor-station, as this was the station for mainline trains between Amsterdam and Rotterdam.

Nevertheless, The Hague wanted the station to be at the location of the Staatsspoor-station, so the new Centraal Station was built right next to it. At the moment this was completed and in use, the old station was demolished. Connecting tracks were built to connect the line from Amsterdam to Den Haag Centraal. Although The Hague now has a Central Station, only trains for which The Hague is the final destination halt here. Still, all Intercity- and international trains between Amsterdam and Rotterdam only halt at Hollands Spoor. Nowadays, The Hague is the only city in the Netherlands which still has two major train stations.

Train services

The following services call at Den Haag Centraal:

• 1x per hour intercity service The Hague - Utrecht - Amersfoort - Zwolle - Groningen
• 1x per hour intercity service The Hague - Utrecht - Amersfoort - Hengelo - Enschede
• 2x per hour intercity service The Hague - Rotterdam - Breda - Eindhoven - Venlo
• 2x per hour intercity service The Hague - Utrecht
• 2x per hour express service (sneltrein) Amsterdam - Schiphol - The Hague
• 2x per hour express service (sneltrein) Hoorn - Alkmaar - Haarlem - The Hague
• 2x per hour local service (stoptrein) The Hague - Rotterdam - Dordrecht - Roosendaal
• 2x per hour local service (stoptrein) The Hague - Leiden - Haarlem
• 2x per hour local service (sprinter) The Hague - Gouda - Utrecht
• 2x per hour local service (stoptrein) The Hague - Gouda Goverwelle

Preceding station		Nederlandse Spoorwegen		Following station
Terminus		NS Intercity 500		Gouda toward Groningen
Terminus		NS Intercity 1700		Gouda toward Enschede
Terminus		NS Intercity 1900		Den Haag Hollands Spoor toward Venlo
Terminus		NS Intercity 2000		Gouda toward Utrecht Centraal
Terminus		NS Sneltrein 2600		Leiden Centraal toward Amsterdam Centraal
Terminus		NS Sneltrein 3400 13400		Den Haag Laan van NOI toward Hoorn
Terminus		NS Stoptrein 5100		Den Haag Hollands Spoor toward Roosendaal
Terminus		NS Stoptrein 6300		Den Haag Laan van NOI toward Haarlem
Terminus		NS Sprinter 9800		Voorburg toward Utrecht Centraal
Terminus		NS Stoptrein 19800		Voorburg toward Gouda Goverwelle
Laan van NOI toward Rotterdam Centraal		Line E (RET)		Terminus
Beatrixkwartier toward Centrum West		Line RR3 (HTM)		Spui toward Arnold Spoelplein
Beatrixkwartier toward Javalaan		Line RR4 (HTM)		Spui toward De Uithof

See also

• RandstadRail