Weesp–Leiden railway

Schiphollijn
Overview
Type Heavy rail
System Nederlandse Spoorwegen
Locale North and South Holland
Termini Weesp
Leiden Centraal
Stations 9
Operation
Opening 1978
Owner ProRail
Operator(s) Nederlandse Spoorwegen
Technical
Track length 30 kilometres (19 mi)
Track gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in)
Route map
Legend
 Line from Amersfoort
Line to Almere
 River Vecht
 142.4 Weesp
 Amsterdam-Rhine Canal
Line to Amsterdam Centraal
 148.7 Diemen Zuid
Line from Amsterdam Centraal
150.3
0.0
 Duivendrecht
Utrechtboog
Line to Utrecht
 River Amstel
 4.1 Amsterdam RAI
 5.5 Amsterdam Zuid
Line from Amsterdam Centraal
 Ringvaart
14.3 Schiphol
19.9 Hoofddorp
HSL-Zuid to Rotterdam
 24.3 Nieuw Vennep
 Ringvaart
 34.7 Sassenheim (from December 2011)
Line from Haarlem
 Leiden Centraal
to Woerden
 Line to Den Haag

The Weesp–Leiden railway (Dutch: Schiphollijn) is a railway line in the Netherlands which runs between the cities of Weesp and Leiden; the line also passes through and serves Amsterdam Airport Schiphol.

History

The first section of the Schiphollijn was opened on 20 December 1978 between Schiphol and Amsterdam Zuid. At the time, this section of railway was not connected to the rest of the Dutch railway network. This section of the Schiphollijn features a 6 kilometres (3.7 mi)-long tunnel, in which Schiphol railway station is located. When it was constructed, Schiphol was the only railway station in the Netherlands to be in-tunnel.

The line was extended in both directions in 1981 to Amsterdam RAI and Leiden Centraal; new stations were opened at Hoofddorp and Nieuw-Vennep.

In 1986, a connection to Amsterdam Centraal was completed: the Amsterdam–Schiphol railway. Stations were opened at Amsterdam Lelylaan, Amsterdam De Vlugtlaan and Amsterdam Sloterdijk. Amsterdam De Vlugtlaan was closed in 2000, after the opening of the Hemboog: a chord at Amsterdam Sloterdijk which connects Schiphol and the city of Zaandam.

The Schiphollijn was completed in 1993 when the railway was extended to the town of Weesp. This enabled direct connections to Schiphol Airport from the eastern and northern provinces of the Netherlands to Schiphol. Duivendrecht railway station opened to provide a connection between the new line and the Amsterdam–Arnhem railway.

The most important stations on this line are: