Den Haag Centraal railway station

Den Haag Centraal
Location	Koningin Julianaplein 10 2595 AA The Hague Netherlands
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
Operated by	Nederlandse Spoorwegen
Line(s)	Gouda–Den Haag railway
Platforms	10
Other information
Station code	Gvc
History
Opened	1973
Services
Preceding station   Nederlandse Spoorwegen   Following station Terminus NS Intercity 700 1x/hour; Not on late evenings and early weekend mornings. Combined half-hourly service with Intercity 12700 on section Den Haag Centraal-Zwolle. Transfer to Intercity 12500 to/from Leeuwarden at Zwolle Leiden Centraal toward Groningen NS Intercity 1700 1x/hour; Combined half-hourly service with Intercity 11700 on section Den Haag Centraal-Amersfoort. Transfer to Intercity 11600 to/from Amersfoort Schothorst at Amersfoort Gouda toward Enschede NS Intercity 1900 2x/hour Den Haag Hollands Spoor toward Venlo NS Intercity 2000 2x/hour; Not on late evenings and early Sunday mornings Gouda toward Utrecht Centraal NS Intercity 2100 2x/hour Leiden Centraal toward Amsterdam Centraal NS Intercity 11700 1x/hour; Combined half-hourly service with Intercity 1700 on section Den Haag Centraal-Amersfoort. Transfer to Intercity 1600 to/from Enschede at Amersfoort Gouda toward Amersfoort Schothorst NS Intercity 12700 1x/hour; Not on late evenings and early weekend mornings. Combined half-hourly service with Intercity 700 on section Den Haag Centraal-Zwolle. Transfer to Intercity 500 to/from Groningen at Zwolle Leiden Centraal toward Leeuwarden NS Sprinter 5000 2x/hour; Not on evenings and weekends Den Haag Hollands Spoor toward Breda NS Sprinter 5100 2x/hour, but only 1x/hour at evenings and weekends; Combined half-hourly service on evenings and weekends with Sprinter 15100 on section Den Haag Centraal-Lage Zwaluwe Den Haag Hollands Spoor toward Roosendaal NS Sprinter 5700 2x/hour Den Haag Laan van NOI toward Utrecht Centraal NS Sprinter 6300 2x/hour; Not on evenings and weekends Den Haag Laan van NOI toward Haarlem NS Sprinter 9800 2x/hour Voorburg toward Utrecht Centraal NS Sprinter 15100 1x/hour; Evenings and weekends only. Combined half-hourly service with Sprinter 5100 on section Den Haag Centraal-Lage Zwaluwe Den Haag Hollands Spoor toward Breda NS Sprinter 19800 2x/hour; Not on evenings and weekends Voorburg toward Gouda Goverwelle
Location

Den Haag Centraal (Dutch pronunciation: [dɛn ɦaːx sɛnˈtraːɫ]; In English: The Hague Central) (IATA: ZYH) is the largest railway station in the Dutch city of The Hague and, with twelve tracks, the largest terminal station in the Netherlands. 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

Main hall of Den Haag Centraal, before its renovation.

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

In 1870, the Nederlandsche Rhijnspoorweg-Maatschappij (Dutch Rhine-railroad Company) opened a second station in The Hague, Den Haag Rijnspoor (The Hague Rhine Rail) 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 ("The Hague State Rail").

In the 1970s, Nederlandse Spoorwegen decided to build a new Central Station in The Hague and it was decided to build the new station next to Staatsspoor station. The old station was demolished after the new station was completed. A chord was also built to connect the station to the line to Amsterdam. Although Centraal station is the largest station in The Hague, it is only served by terminating trains, while Intercity- and international trains travelling between Amsterdam and Rotterdam only stop at Hollands Spoor station. Nowadays, The Hague is the only city in the Netherlands which still has two major railway stations.

The main hall of Den Haag Centraal is currently undergoing a renovation in order to increase the railway station's capacity. The roof has been replaced. It is now higher, and made of glass plates placed in a framework of stainless steel. Moreover, more commercial space has been added next to both side entrances, and new tiling is due to be placed. The renovation was planned to finish by the end of 2014, but is still going on as of July 2015.

Train services

The following services call at Den Haag Centraal:

• 1x per hour intercity service The Hague - Leiden - Schiphol - Duivendrecht - Lelystad - Zwolle - Groningen
• 1x per hour intercity service The Hague - Leiden - Schiphol - Duivendrecht - Lelystad - Zwolle - Leeuwarden
• 2x per hour intercity service The Hague - Leiden - Haarlem - Amsterdam
• 1x per hour intercity service The Hague - Utrecht - Amersfoort - Hengelo - Enschede
• 1x per hour intercity service The Hague - Utrecht - Amersfoort - Amersfoort Schothorst
• 2x per hour intercity service The Hague - Utrecht
• 2x per hour intercity service The Hague - Rotterdam - Breda - Eindhoven - Venlo
• 2x per hour local service (sprinter) The Hague - Rotterdam - Dordrecht - Breda
• 2x per hour local service (sprinter) The Hague - Rotterdam - Dordrecht - Roosendaal
• 2x per hour local service (sprinter) The Hague - Leiden - Schiphol - Duivendrecht - Hilversum - Utrecht
• 2x per hour local service (sprinter) The Hague - Leiden - Haarlem
• 2x per hour local service (sprinter) The Hague - Gouda - Utrecht
• 2x per hour local service (sprinter) The Hague - Gouda - Gouda Goverwelle

Tram services

The elevated tram station undergoing a renovation, as of June 2013.

Den Haag Centraal is an HTM Personenvervoer public transportation hub. The railway station features two tram stations; one on a platform above the rail tracks and one parallel to them, outside the south-western entrance.

Upper tram station

Lower tram station

Besides the Tramservices offered by the HTM, the Rotterdam-based RET runs a metro from the station via Leidschenveen and Pijnacker to the Rotterdam Metro system.

Bus services

There is a bus platform above the rail roads, which is connected to the Prins Bernhardviaduct running over the tracks. The platform is accessible from the station's main hall. Several city and regional lines of three different carriers stop here. HTM's bus lines starting with an N are night buses and only run on Fridays and Saturdays.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Den Haag Central station.

• (Dutch) NS website
• Live departure times and cancellations in English
• Dutch Public Transport journey planner
• (Dutch) Den Haag Nieuw Centraal
• HTM Personenvervoer
• (Dutch) Veolia Haaglanden
• (Dutch) Arriva
• (Dutch) RET
• (Dutch) HTMbuzz