Schiphollijn

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Schiphollijn Line
Map of the Schiphollijn line
Info
Type	Commuter rail line
System	Nederlandse Spoorwegen
Locale	North and South Holland
Terminals	Weesp Leiden Centraal
No. of stations	9
Operation
Owner	ProRail
Operator(s)	Nederlandse Spoorwegen
Technical
Track length	30 kilometers (19 mi)
Gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8½ in)
Line map Weesp Diemen Zuid Duivendrecht Amstel River Amsterdam RAI Amsterdam Zuid Schipholspoortunnel Schiphol Schipholspoortunnel Hoofddorp Nieuw Vennep Leiden Centraal

Schiphollijn is the name of the railway track line that links Amsterdam Airport Schiphol with Amsterdam and Leiden.

The first part of the Schiphollijn was opened on 20 December 1978 between Schiphol and Amsterdam South station. At the time, the track was not connected to the rest of the railway network. The track includes a tunnel with a length of 6 kilometers (3.7 miles). The railway station of Schiphol is located in this tunnel. At the time of construction, it was the first railway station in the Netherlands in a tunnel.

In 1981, the line was extended to Amsterdam RAI station on the eastern side, and to Leiden at the southern side, where it connected to the main railway network. Along this track, the stations were opened at Hoofddorp and Nieuw Vennep.

In 1986, the connection to Amsterdam Central station was completed. The stations Amsterdam Lelylaan, Amsterdam De Vlugtlaan (closed in 2000) and Amsterdam Sloterdijk were opened.

In 1993, the south branch was extended from Amsterdam RAI to Weesp. Along the track, the stations Duivendrecht and Diemen Zuid were opened. This link enabled direct connections from the eastern and northern provinces to Schiphol.