Maastricht railway station

Maastricht
General information
Location	Stationsplein, Maastricht, Limburg, Netherlands
Coordinates	50°51′00″N 5°42′19″E
Line(s)	Maastricht–Venlo railway Maastricht–Aachen railway Liège–Maastricht railway
Tracks	17
Other information
Station code	Mt
History
Opened	23 October 1853; 171 years ago (1853-10-23)
Services Preceding station Nederlandse Spoorwegen Following station Sittard towards Schiphol Airport NS Intercity 800 Weekdays Terminus Sittard towards Enkhuizen NS Intercity 2900 Weekends Preceding station Arriva Netherlands Following station Meerssen towards Heerlen Sneltrein 32100 Maastricht Randwyck Terminus Maastricht Noord towards Heerlen Stoptrein 32000 Bunde towards Roermond Stoptrein 32400 Maastricht Randwyck towards Liège-Guillemins RE 18 LIMAX Drielandentrein Dreiländerzug Train des trois pays Meerssen towards Aachen Hbf
Location Maastricht Location within Netherlands

Maastricht railway station (Dutch: Station Maastricht [staːˈɕɔ maːˈstrɪxt]; Limburgish: Statie Mestreech [ˈstaː˦si məˈstʀeːx]) is located in Maastricht in Limburg, Netherlands. It is the main railway station in Limburg's capital city. It is the southern terminus of the Alkmaar–Maastricht intercity service by NS. Additionally, Arriva and the Belgian NMBS serve the station with local trains.

History

The station opened on 23 October 1853 together with the Maastricht–Aachen railway [nl]. In 1856, a railway connection to Hasselt was opened. Both lines are now (partially) closed. In 1861, the Liège-Maastricht railway connection was opened. It was not until the opening of the Maastricht–Venlo railway in 1865 that Maastricht was connected to the rest of the Netherlands.

Hallway connecting the main hall to the platforms 1, 2 and 3 and the bus station. Old signs are still visible above the tunnels from the days that border customs were present in this station.

Due to the fortified character of the town, the first railway station was in fact situated outside Maastricht, within the municipality of Meerssen. The first station was built out of wood, so that in case of attack it could quickly be demolished. The municipal borders were adjusted in 1907, making the station part of the municipality of Maastricht. The current brick building was built in 1913, designed by George Willem van Heukelom. Due to its international connection, the station housed border customs. Even though Belgian trains from Liège still terminate at Maastricht, passport and security checks have gone with the implementation of the Schengen Agreement. The former customs space is now used for small shops such as a florist, an Albert Heijn, a HEMA, Snackbars, and a Starbucks.

Improvements to the railway station

There was a plan to reopen the line to Hasselt as a tramway. Twice an hour, a tram was to run from Maastricht station through the town centre to the nearby town of Lanaken, and further as a light rail train to Bilzen and Hasselt. The line was planned to open in 2018^[1] but was first of all curtailed to the town centre because the bridge was too weak, then postponed until 2024,^[2] and finally cancelled in 2022.^[3]

In June 2024,^[4] the Liège-Guillemins to Maastricht service by National Railway Company of Belgium train line was replaced by Arriva. The service will run from Liège-Guillemins to Aachen Hbf via Maastricht. The service will stop at the following stations: Liège-Guillemins – Bressoux – Visé – Eijsden – Maastricht Randwijck – Maastricht - Meerssen - Valkenburg – Heerlen – Landgraaf - Herzogenrath - Aachen West - Aachen Hbf^[5]

Train services

The following train services call at this station:

• NS intercity: (Schagen–)Alkmaar–Amsterdam–Utrecht–Eindhoven–Maastricht
• Arriva sneltrein RE 18: Maastricht–Meerssen–Valkenburg–Heerlen–Herzogenrath–Aachen
• Arriva stoptrein RS 18: Maastricht Randwyck–Meerssen–Valkenburg-Heerlen
• Arriva stoptrein RS 12: Maastricht Randwyck–Maastricht–Sittard-Roermond
• SNCB/NMBS regional S 43: Liège–Visé–Maastricht

Bus services

City buses

• 1: Malberg–Brusselse Poort–Maastricht City Centre–Maastricht Central Station–Maastricht Randwyck–De Heeg
• 2: Oud Caberg–Brusselse Poort–Maastricht City Centre–Maastricht Central Station–Maastricht Randwyck–De Heeg
• 3: Wolder–Biesland–Jekerkwartier–Maastricht City Centre–Maastricht Central Station–Wittevrouwenveld–Nazareth
• 4: Maastricht(–Pottenberg–Jekerkwartier–City Centre–Central Station–Wittevrouwenveld)–Berg en Terblijt–Valkenburg
• 5: Daalhof–Mariaberg–Maastricht City Centre–Maastricht Central Station–Maastricht Randwyck–Heugem–Oost-Maarland–Eijsden
• 6: Daalhof–Mariaberg–Maastricht City Centre–Maastricht Central Station–Wittevrouwenveld–Amby
• 7: Malpertuis–Caberg–Maastricht City Centre–Maastricht Central Station–Maastricht City Centre–Jekerdal–Villapark
• 8: Maastricht(–Boschpoort–City Centre–Central Station–Wittevrouwenveld)–Bemelen–Sibbe–Valkenburg
• 9: Maastricht Central Station–Beatrixhaven–Borgharen–Itteren–Bunde

Night buses

• N1: Malberg–Brusselse Poort–Maastricht City Centre–Maastricht Central Station–Randwyck–De Heeg
• N4: Maastricht City Centre–Scharn–Wittevrouwenveld–Berg en Terblijt–Valkenburg

Regional buses

• 15: Eijsden- Maastricht
• 30: Sittard–Geleen–Beek–MAA–Meerssen–Maastricht
• 57: Maastricht–Gronsveld–Eckelrade–St. Geertruid–Mheer–Noorbeek–Heyenrath–Epen–Mechelen–Partij–Gulpen
• 350 (Limburgliner): Maastricht–Cadier en Keer–Margraten–Gulpen–Wahlwiller–Nijswiller–Lemiers–Vaals–Aachen
• 610 (school line): Simpelveld–Bocholtz–Nijswiller–Wahlwiller–Gulpen–Margraten–Cadier en Keer–Maastricht

References

1. "Homepage2". Archived from the original on 2016-10-29. Retrieved 2014-11-12.
2. "Tram Maastricht - Hasselt: Wat?".
3. "homepage2". Tram Maastricht-Hasselt (in Dutch). Retrieved 2022-09-24.
4. https://www.railjournal.com/regions/europe/germany-netherlands-belgium-service-to-start-in-june/ ^{[bare URL]}
5. "Arrival of drielanden train delayed: Possibly due in the first quarter of 2024". 6 October 2023.

External links

• NS website