Train routes in the Netherlands

Train routes by timetable number

Train routes in the Netherlands are identified by numbers. The routes are listed here using the official abbreviations for the station names, see list of stations, with their official abbreviations, and in the order corresponding to direction "a" in the official paper timetable. Reading each list backwards corresponds to direction "b" in the timetable. [http://railweb.techsite.cz/mapy/mnls.jpg] is a map showing these table numbers and the full names of the main stations.

Long distance trains often cover several of these routes, see the next section.

For schedules and maps of routes see [http://www.ns.nl/servlet/Satellite?cid=1075985690180&pagename=www.ns.nl%2FPage%2FSuperHomepageEnglish&lang=en ns.nl] .

*10: - -
** -
*11: gvc, gv, gvmw, rsw, dt, dtz, sdm, rtd, rtb, rtz, rlb, brd, zwd,
*
*13: hlm, bll, sptz, sptn, drh, bv, hk, utg, cas, hlo, amr, amrn, hwd, obd, hn
*14:
*15: apn, bsk, wadn, wad, gd
*16: gvc, laa, vbl, ldv, ztmv, zcw, ztmd, dtwa, dmp, ztmm, ztmb, ley, ztml, ztms, ztmp, zsh, zcw, ztmv, ldv
*17:
*18: hlds, hld, msw, mss, vdw, vdg, vdo, nwl, sdm, rtd
*
*20: hdr, hdrz, ana, sgn, hwd, amrn, amr, hlo, cas, utg, kma, wm, kzd, kbw, zd, ass, asd
*21: {asd, ass} / {hfd, shl, asdl}, zd, zdk, pmr, pmo, hn, hnk, hks, bkg, bkf, ekz
*22: {asd, asdm, asa, dvd, asb, ac, bkl, mas, ut} / {shl, asdz, ut}
*23: htn, htnc
*24: ut, utl, htn, cl, gdm, zbm, ht, vg, btl, beth, ehb, ehv
**gdm, tl
*25: ehv, gp, hze, wt, rm, ec, srn, std, lut, bk, bde, mt
*26: mtr, mt, mes, sgl, vk, sog, kmr, vdl, hrl, lg, egh, cvm, krd
*27: ddr, ddzd, zlw, bdpb, bd, gz, tbr, tbwt, tb, ot, btl, beth, ehb, ehv, hmh, hm, hmbh, dn, hrt, br, vl
*29: nm, nmh, ck, bmr, vlb, vry, br, vl, tg, rv, sm, rm
*30: dvd, dmnz, wp, almm, alm, almp, almb, almo, lls
*31: wd, bkl
*32: wp/almm, ndb, bsmz, hvsn, hvs, hvsp, hor, uto, ut
*33: ut, bnk, db, mrn, klp, ed, wf, otb, ah
*40: {asd, asdm, dmn} / {shl, asdz, rai, dvd, dmnz}, wp, ndb, bsmz, hvsn, hvs, brn, amf
*41: amf, apd, apdo, twl, dv, dvc, hon, rsn, wdn, aml
*42: ut, uto, bhv, dld, amf, dld, bhv, uto, ut, bnk, db, mrn, klp, ed
*50: gvc, vb, ztm, ztmo, gd, gdg, wd, vtn, utt, ut
**rtd, rtn, rta, cps, nwk, gd
*51: amf, amfs, avat, nkk, pt, eml, hd, ns, hde, wz, zl, mp, hgv, bl, asn, hrn, gn
**zl, mp, swk, wv, hr, akm, gw, lw
*60: zl, wh, ost, dv, zp, bmn, dr, rh, vp, ahpr, ahp, ah, est, nml, nm
*61: nm, nmd, wc, rvs, o, ow, rs, hto, ht, tb, tbwt, tbr, gz, bd, etn, rsd
*63: zw, kpn
*64: zl, dl, omn, mrb, hdb, gbg, co, dln, na, emnb, emn
*65: zl, hno, rat, nvd, wdn, aml, amri, bn, hgl, esd, es
*
*(some not listed here, all non-electrified, see below)

For a given departure and arrival station such lists can be conveniently produced by extracting them from the trainroute in the source code of the webpage produced by requesting a journey advice from http://www.ns.nl/domestic/ .

Non-electrified lines

(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

Crossing lines

(not including just crossing tracks, such as fly-overs at a junction)

See Train station#Train stations at a crossing.

Without station:
*10/11 and 50
*12 crossing the triangle west of Haarlem
*16 crossing itself
*17 and 50 (both branches)
*Diemen-Zuid–Watergraafsmeer and 40 (Amsterdam Central branch)
*The HSL-Zuid being constructed crosses 14, 50 and 61.

Railway triangles

Normally a railway junction means a location from where there are railway lines in three directions A, B and C, where trains coming from A can go to B and C, while to go from B to C the train has to reverse direction. Sometimes there is also a nearby arc from B to C, hence a small triangle of lines:

*Gooiboog: Weesp, Almere, Naarden-Bussum

Triangles without regular passenger traffic on one or two of the sides:
*west of Haarlem
*Rotterdam west: "Sporendriehoek" (track triangle)
*Diemen-Zuid, Watergraafsmeer yard (bypassing Diemen), Weesp
*Haren, Groningen, Kropswolde
*Amsterdam Centraal, Hemhaven, Zaandam (bypassing Amsterdam Sloterdijk)

Two crossing lines and an arc:
*Hemboog at Amsterdam Sloterdijk. This bypasses the Amsterdam Sloterdijk station and provides a direct connection between Schiphol and Zaandam / Hoorn. It would also allow a direct train service from Schiphol to Alkmaar, but that is not provided yet due to a lack of capacity.
*The Utrechtboog at Duivendrecht, which connects the lines Amsterdam CS - Amsterdam Bijlmer Arena - Utrecht CS and Weesp-Schiphol-Nieuw Vennep-Leiden. Before this existed, passengers from Utrecht had to change trains at Duivendrecht when traveling to the airport, or take a longer route through Hilversum.

Two crossing lines with three arcs:
*10/11 and 50 with arcs Den Haag Centraal–Den Haag HS, Den Haag Centraal–Den Haag Laan van NOI, and freight-only Den Haag HS–Voorburg.

Future train routes

There are a couple of new train projects in the Netherlands being either established or investigated.
*The HSL-Zuid (Hoge Snelheidslijn Zuid, High-speed Line South) will provide a faster connection between Amsterdam Central Station, Schiphol airport, Rotterdam and onward to the Belgian cities of Antwerp and Brussels, where it connects to the already existing high-speed line to Paris, France. This line is being worked on right now, and should be completed in 2009.
*The HSL-Zuid will have branches from the main rail line, connecting The Hague and Breda. Next to the services going straight to Belgium, there will be a shuttle service between The Hague. Rotterdam, Breda and on to Antwerp and Brussels. A second shuttle will be operating between Breda and Amsterdam.
*The Hanzelijn will connect Lelystad with Zwolle and would shorten the travelling time between the Randstad and the northern provinces. Construction has started early 2007 and should be completed in 2012.
*The connection between Maastricht and the Belgian Lanaken is being reopened, for freight trains only at first. There are plans for a light rail connection between these two cities, and extensions to the bigger Belgian city of Hasselt.
*There are plans to improve and extend the line between Weert and Neerpelt (Belgium), currently used for low-speed freight traffic only, to carry regular passenger services. This would create a fast connection between Eindhoven, Middle Dutch Limburg and North Belgian Limburg and eventually Antwerp. Currently, the only connection to Antwerp is via Roosendaal.

Changes of NS services from 20?? due to the HSL-Zuid

The following is especially relevant for people who need to avoid the HSL-Zuid: people traveling in peak hours who do not want to pay a much higher fare, and holders of NS passes.

The existing Benelux train service will be replaced by an HSL Benelux train, stopping in Amsterdam, Schiphol, Rotterdam, Breda, Antwerp, Mechelen and the Brussels Central and Midi.

The Vlissingen - Amsterdam intercity trains will run via Haarlem instead of Schiphol, and will run twice an hour. This route takes about the same time as the route via Schiphol, and the additional train per hour will replace the Benelux train when it comes to domestic services.

This means that travelling with NS from Rotterdam to Schiphol, one will have to change in Leiden, using the preserved train service Den Haag Centraal - Leiden Centraal - Schiphol - Amsterdam Centraal.

Train number series

Below are the train routes in the Netherlands with starting number of the train number series, not to be confused with the numbers of locomotives, rail cars or train-sets, or with the table numbers of routes in the paper timetable, given in the previous section.

IC: intercity, EC: EuroCity D: semi-fast train, R: stoptrein, LR: light rail, ICE: InterCityExpress International, THA: Thalys, RB: DB RegionalBahn, RE: DB RegionalExpress, CNL: CityNightLine

*104,105 EC Amsterdam Centraal - Utrecht Centraal - Basel. Operated daily by the ICE train.
*120, 220 ICE Amsterdam Centraal - Frankfurt am Main Hbf
*140 IC Schiphol - Berlin Ostbahnhof
*300 CNL Amsterdam Centraal - Zürich HB. An overnight sleeper train.
*400 IC Brussels South - Maastricht
*500 IC Den Haag Centraal / Rotterdam Centraal - Groningen / Leeuwarden
*700 IC Schiphol / Amsterdam South - Groningen / Leeuwarden
*800 IC Schagen/ Alkmaar - Maastricht
*1400 (IC)D Rotterdam Centraal (rtd) - Delft (dt) - The Hague Centraal (gvc) - Leiden Centraal (ledn) - Schiphol Airport (shl) - Amsterdam Centraal (asd) - Utrecht Centraal (ut). Runs at night, is called Nachtnet (Nighttrain) and has an hourly service. Due to the U-shape of the route, the travelling time from the first four stations to Utrecht is longer than during the day. See also below.
*1500 IC Amsterdam Centraal - Amersfoort - (Deventer)
*1600 IC Schiphol / Amsterdam Centraal - Enschede
*1900 IC Den Haag Centraal - Venlo
*2000 IC Nijmegen - Rotterdam Centraal / Den Haag Centraal
*2100 IC Amsterdam Centraal - Vlissingen
*2200 D Amsterdam Centraal - Dordrecht - Breda
*2600 D Den Haag Centraal - Amsterdam Centraal
*2700 R Roosendaal - Antwerpen- Centraal. Run by NMBS
*3000 IC Nijmegen - Den Helder
*3300 R Hoorn-Kersenboogerd - Hoofddorp
*3400 D Den Haag Centraal - Hoorn
*3500 IC Amsterdam - Eindhoven
*3600 IC Arnhem - Roosendaal
*3700 IC Zwolle - Nijmegen
*3800 D Zwolle - Emmen
*3900 IC Lelystad Centrum - Amsterdam Centraal - Hoofddorp
*4000 R Amsterdam Centraal - Woerden - Rotterdam Centraal
*4100 R Rotterdam Centraal - Hoek van Holland Strand
*4200 R Rotterdam Centraal - Maassluis West
*4300 R Lelystad Centrum - Hoofddorp
*4400 R 's-Hertogenbosch - Nijmegen
*4500 R Almere Buiten - Amsterdam Centraal - Enkhuizen
*4700 R Amsterdam Centraal - Alkmaar
*4800 R Amsterdam Centraal - Uitgeest
*5000 R Leiden Centraal - Den Haag HS - Dordrecht
*5100 R Den Haag Centraal - Roosendaal
*5200 R Tilburg West - Deurne
*5300 R Maastricht - Liège-Guillemins. Run by NMBS
*5400 IC Haarlem - Zandvoort aan Zee
*5500 R Utrecht Centraal - Baarn
*5600 R Utrecht Centraal - Zwolle
*5700 R Utrecht Centraal - Leiden Centraal through Schiphol
*5800 R Amersfoort Vathorst - Uitgeest
*6000 R Utrecht Centraal - Tiel
*6300 R Den Haag Centraal - Haarlem
*6400 R Eindhoven - Weert
*6800 R Maastricht Randwijck - Roermond
*6900 R Heerlen - Roermond
*7000 R Almelo - Deventer
*7400 R Rhenen Utrecht - Breukelen - Amsterdam Zuid (south)
*7500 R Ede-Wageningen - Arnhem - Zutphen
*7900 R Zwolle - Enschede
*8000 R Zwolle - Emmen
*8100 RE13 Venlo - Hamm
*8400 R/RB Groningen - Leer(Ostfr) Hbf (run by Arriva)
*8500 R Zwolle - Kampen
*8800 IC Utrecht Centraal - Leiden Centraal
*8900 RB20 Heerlen- AachenHbf- Eschweiler-Weisweiler
*9100 R Zwolle - Groningen
*9200 IC *Amsterdam C (asd) - Schiphol Airport (shl) - The Hague HS (gv) - Rotterdam C (rtd) - Dordrecht (ddr) - Roosendaal (rsd) - Antwerp C - Mechelen - Brussels North - Brussels C - Brussels South/Midi. This train is called the Benelux train. The train can use 1500 volt DC (Netherlands) and 3000 volt DC (Belgium). For details see [http://www.treinspotter.nl/benelux/bnl.htm] (in Dutch), and also [http://www.b-rail.be/internat/E/destination/holland/day_timetablesin.html] , [http://www.b-rail.be/internat/E/destination/holland/day_timetablesout.html] . This service will be replaced in 2009 by the HSL-Zuid.
*9300 THA Amsterdam Centraal - Paris North (Thalys)
*9500 LR Gouda - Alphen aan den Rijn
*9600 R 's-Hertogenbosch - Eindhoven
*9800 R Den Haag Centraal - Gouda - Utrecht Centraal
*13600 R 's-Hertogenbosch - Breda
*14600 R Roosendaal - Vlissingen
*15400 D Haarlem - Zandvoort aan Zee
*16000 R Utrecht Centraal - 's-Hertogenbosch
*17800 R Zutphen - Apeldoorn
*18100 LR Houten- Houten Castellum
*19500 R Gouda - Alphen a/d Rijn - Leiden Centraal
*Trains run by Arriva
**30000 R Leeuwarden - Stavoren
**30100 R Leeuwarden - Harlingen Haven
**30200 R/D Groningen - Leeuwarden
**30400 R Groningen - Nieuweschans
**30500 R Groningen - Roodeschool
**30600 R Groningen - Delfzijl
**32500 R Dordrecht - Geldermalsen
*Trains run by Syntus
**30700 R Arnhem - Doetinchem - Winterswijk
**30800 R Winterswijk - Zutphen
**30900 R Winterswijk - Arnhem
**31000 R Almelo - Mariënberg
**31100 R Arnhem - Tiel
*Trains run by Veolia Transport
**32000 R Maastricht Randwijck - Kerkrade Centrum
**32100 IC Maastricht - Heerlen
**32200 R Nijmegen - Roermond
**32300 R Nijmegen - Venray
*33200 RB64 Enschede - Münster Hbf. Run by DB Regionalbahn Westfalen.
*33250 RB51 Enschede - Dortmund Hbf. Ditto.

E.g., in the 1400 series the last two digits are 01, 05, 09, 13 and 17 in anti-clockwise direction (timetable numbers 11b, 10b, 20a) and 02, 06, 10, 14, 18 and 22 in clockwise direction (timetable numbers 20b, 10a, 11a).

Train routes with reversal of direction

Train routes with reversal of direction on the way (all with multiple units), with station:

*1400 The Hague Centraal (gvc) (at night only)
*2000, 3000 Arnhem (ah)
*3400 Haarlem (hlm)
*500, 1500 Utrecht (ut)

tretches with four tracks

*10 Schiphol – Hoofddorp (section Hoofddorp – beyond Nieuw-Vennep under construction : 2 extra tracks are the High Speed line.
*10, 11 Leiden – Rijswijk
*10, 16, 17 Den Haag Centraal - Den Haag Laan v NOI
*11 Schiedam – Dordrecht
*20, 40 Amsterdam Centraal – Amsterdam Muiderpoort
*20 Amsterdam Bijlmer Arena – Utrecht
*24, 27 Boxtel – Eindhoven
*32, 42 Utrecht Centraal – Utrecht Overvecht
*50 Utrecht – Woerden (under construction)
*50 Gouda – Gouda Goverwelle

Links to main cities in the railway network, arranged according to location

Den Helder Enkhuizen | Leeuwarden Groningen Hoorn | Assen
Lelystad | Zwolle Alkmaar Almere
Haarlem Amsterdam Schiphol Deventer Enschede Leiden Amersfoort Apeldoorn Zutphen The Hague Gouda Utrecht Arnhem Delft Nijmegen Rotterdam Dordrecht Den Bosch Roosendaal Breda Tilburg Eindhoven Roermond Vlissingen Sittard Maastricht Heerlen

History

Railway map 1904:

ee also

*Railway stations in the Netherlands
*Betuweroute - freight line connecting Rotterdam with the German Ruhr area.

External links

*http://www.ns.nl/servlet/Satellite?cid=1075985690180&pagename=www.ns.nl%2FPage%2FSuperHomepageEnglish&lang=en&c=Page
*http://home.hetnet.nl/~niels-karsdorp/nl/drgl3.htm
*http://www.ov-website.nl/treinseries/main.php

Railway maps:
*http://www.treinen.demon.nl/map/ns2.htm (with intercity routes colored)
*go in [http://www.ns.nl/pages/nederland.html] to "Nieuws & Uittips", then "Handig", then "Spoorkaart van Nederland" (with distances)
*http://railweb.techsite.cz/mapy/mnls.jpg(with table numbers used in the paper version of the timetable; only main stations)
*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