Amsterdam Metro

The Amsterdam Metro is a mixed rapid transit and light rail system in Amsterdam, and its surrounding municipalities Amstelveen, Diemen, and Ouder-Amstel in the Netherlands. The network is owned by the city of Amsterdam and operated by the Gemeentelijk Vervoerbedrijf, the company that also operates trams, ferries and local buses.

There are four lines in the metro system. Three lines start at Amsterdam Centraal, of which line 53 and 54 connect the city centre to Diemen, Duivendrecht, and Amsterdam Zuidoost in the southeast, and line 51 connects the city centre to Amstelveen in the south. The Ring Line, line 50, connects Amsterdam Zuidoost to the west without crossing the centre of the city. The North/South line is currently under construction and will connect the north with Amstelveen and crosses the historical city centre.

The metro system uses standard gauge track, operating on 750 V DC third rail. Line 51 is a hybrid between metro and light rail, as it uses shared metro track between Amsterdam Centraal and Zuid, and shared tram track between Zuid and Amstelveen Centrum, continuing with the tram-style overhead at 600 V DC to Westwijk. Dual height platforms are provided at the overlapping stops for metro line 51 and tram line 5 vehicles.

The OV-chipkaart, a contactless smart card, is the only accepted ticket in the Amsterdam Metro. Before August 2009, the nation-wide strippenkaart ticketing system could be used, but it is being phased out.

Construction

History

Amsterdam decided on the construction of a metro system in 1968. Four lines were to be built, connecting the entire city and replacing many of the existing tram lines. The following lines were planned:

• An east-west line from southeast to Osdorp via the Central Station;
• A ring line of the western harbor area to Diemen;
• A north-south line through the north of Amsterdam Central Station to Weteringplantsoen with two branches at both ends;
• Half east-west line from Geuzenveld to Gaasperplas.

The expectation was that the metro would be completed around the turn of the century.

In 1970 the construction of the eastern line was started and it came into operation in 1977. This eastern line consists of two branches, line 53 and 54, to link the city centre with housing developments in the south-east. During the construction, plans to demolish the entire Jewish neighbourhood near the Nieuwmarkt led to strong protests. The metro was still built (wall decorations at the Nieuwmarkt station are dedicated to the protests), but plans to build a highway through the neighbourhood in the centre of Amsterdam were abolished. The line had to be finished by the national government. Due to the protests the planned East-West line was cancelled. At that time however one of the stations that had to connect this line with lines 53 and 54 had already been build underneath Weesperplein station. Because of this the lower level of Weesperplein station was never opened to the public. (Evidence of this lower level however can still be found, for example in the lift buttons.) Since the metro lines, including Weesperplein station, were planned and build during the cold war, there is also a third section of weesperplein station: a bombshelter, which, fortunately, has never been used as such.

In 1990 line 51 was opened, partially sharing track with the previous metro lines, and new track with the extended tram line 5 to Amstelveen. This is referred to as a 'Sneltram' (fast tram), and was constructed to light rail standards. The changeover between third rail and overhead power takes place at Zuid.

In 1997 the ring line (50) was added to the system, providing a fast connection between the south and the west, eliminating the necessity of travelling through the city centre.

Planned

In 2002, the construction of the North/South Line was started, which was due to be completed in July 2012. Due to several setbacks and disputes with the construction company the construction of the line is behind on schedule and it is now scheduled for completion in 2017.

In 2009, a special city council investigative committee concluded that the municipality of Amsterdam "should never have approved" this project. The digging and building of underground part of the line caused historic buildings to subside and the city's budget deficit to explode. Initially the project was budgeted at €1.4 billion and it should have been finished by 2009. The total costs were re-estimated at around €3 billion and the line would not run until 2017.^[1]

The new metro line will be the first to go to the northern Amsterdam district, underneath the IJ. From there on, it will run, via Central Station to Zuid train station, which is planned to replace Amsterdam Centraal as the city's main transport hub.^[2] The project initially had a budget of €1.46 billion, but after several setbacks the total cost estimation has been adjusted to €3.1 billion (price level 2009). The programme has experienced several difficulties, mainly at Centraal Station, resulting in the project running more than 40% over budget. The original planned opening of 2011 has slipped several times, so the current deadline has been contractually agreed upon by all parties, with the construction companies facing fines should the completion date slip any further.^[3][4]

The tram line to IJburg in the east was originally planned to be a metro line, and a short tunnel was constructed eastwards from Centraal Station underneath the railway lines towards this goal. As this line was eventually constructed as a tram line, the tunnel had been abandoned, and there are plans to use it as part of a chocolate museum. There are still plans for the tram to IJburg to be upgraded to metro and connect to the nearby city of Almere, where big new residential areas are being built.^[5]

The North/South Line might be extended to Amsterdam Airport Schiphol in the future.^[2]

Network

The network consists of four lines and five from 2017. Currently four metro lines in Amsterdam: the Gein Line and Gaasperplas Line (together Oostlijn), the Amstelveen line and Ringlijn. The North / South line is under construction. A total of 52 stations combined: 33 stations and 19 underground subway stations. With the opening of the North / South Line will be added at six stations.

Oostlijn

On October 14, 1977, the first metro line ran from Weesperplein to Amsterdam-Zuidoost, with two branches respectively going to Gaasperplas (now line 53) and Holendrecht (now line 54). Spaklerweg station was completed in carcass, but opened later. On [[October 11, 1980, both lines were lengthened to Amsterdam Centraal Station, their northern terminus. The extension of the Gein Line opened on August 27, 1982, with the finishing of the section between Holendrecht and Gein. Spaklerweg station still opened. In some plans of the Gein Line, there was an extension to Weesp and Almere taken into account, however, according to the last Metro Network Study, it seems not to be likely.

Amstelveenlijn

The next expansion got, in following to the Nieuwmarkt Riots in 1975, the format of a fast tram connection rather than a full metro. On December 1, 1990 line 51 from Spaklerweg to Poortwachter became opened. Even today the line is considered as a fast tram line. On September 13, 2004, an extension to Amstelveen Westwijk was finished.

Until Amsterdam Zuid Station, line 51 is a full metro line and has no at-grade intersections, takes power from the third rail and is suitable for 3 meters (10ft) wide trains. The fast tram trains have a width of 2.65 meters (8ft 6in) wide and serves these stations with footboards at the doors of the rolling stock.

Further from Amsterdam Zuid Station, to Amstelveen, the line goes further as a tram. Only the small-profile trains can drive here and the power comes from overhead lines. On the northern half of this part, another tram line 5 serves here too.

Vehicles

There are 106 two-car vehicles for the Amsterdam Metro:

Ticket system

The OV-chipkaart is the only valid form of ticket on the metro system.^[7] It replaced the so-called strippenkaart system on August 27, 2009, after the two systems had run parallel since 2006. New ticket gates have been installed in all enclosed stations, with standalone checkin/checkout machines where platforms are shared with train or tram lines.

Graphic design

For the signs of the Amsterdam Metro the typeface M.O.L. is used, which was specially designed for the signs by Gerard Unger in 1974. The spaces within the letters are larger than normal, in order to improve the letters' legibility when they are illuminated. The name M.O.L. refers to the Dutch word mol which means mole in English. There were plans to use a mole as the mascot for the metro, but this was stopped by city authorities.^[8]

References

External links

• Metro map at the Gemeentelijk Vervoerbedrijf website
• Official Website (In Dutch and English)