Rail transport in the Netherlands

Rail transport in the Netherlands
NS VIRM double-deck EMU
Operation
National railway	Nederlandse Spoorwegen
Infrastructure company	Railinfratrust
Major operators	NS International Arriva Connexxion (Transdev) Keolis Nederland
Statistics
Ridership	438 million per year
Passenger km	17.1 billion per year[1]
Freight	36.5 million tonnes (35,900,000 long tons; 40,200,000 short tons) per year
System length
Total	3,223 km (2,003 mi)[2]
Double track	1,982 km (1,232 mi)
Electrified	2,321 km (1,442 mi)[2]
Freight only	158.5 km (98.5 mi)
High-speed	125 km (78 mi)
Track gauge
Main	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 ^1⁄2 in) standard gauge
High-speed	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 ^1⁄2 in)
Electrification
1.5 kV DC	Main network
25 kV AC	HSL-Zuid, Betuweroute
Features
No. tunnels	13
Longest tunnel	Groeneharttunnel, 7,160 m (4.45 mi)
No. bridges	4,500 (76 movable)
No. stations	397[3]
Map

Rail transport in the Netherlands has a dense railway network which connects nearly all the major towns and cities. There are as many train stations as there are municipalities in the Netherlands. The network has 3,223 route km (2,003 mi) on 6,830 kilometres (4,240 mi) of track.^[4] Three-quarters of the lines have been electrified.^[2]

The Dutch rail network is mostly for passenger transport.^[5] Rail travel is the majority of the distance travelled on Dutch public transport.^[6] The national rail infrastructure is managed and maintained by the government agency ProRail, and a number of operators have concessions to operate their trains.^[7] The entire network is standard gauge. The Netherlands is a member of the International Union of Railways (UIC), and its country code is 84.

Most Dutch trains have Wi-Fi. They don't have food, except on some international trains, due to the short distances involved.

References

1. "Railways, passengers carried (million passenger-km)". worldbank.org. Archived from the original on 17 August 2015.
2. "CIA World Factbook | Field listing: Railways". www.cia.gov. U.S. Central Intelligence Agency. 2014. Archived from the original on June 13, 2007. Retrieved 2015-08-17.
3. "(Vernieuw)bouw van stations". NS Stations (in Dutch). Retrieved 2023-01-29.
4. Hofland, Dick (3 October 2014). "125 jaar Amsterdam Centraal" [Amsterdam Central station 125 years] (in Dutch). Sanoma Media Netherlands. Retrieved 4 October 2014.
5. "Nederlandse spoor zeer intensief gebruikt" [Dutch railtracks intensely used]. www.treinreiziger.nl (in Dutch). Dutch Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). 1 March 2009. Archived from the original on 2017-02-13. Retrieved 2014-07-09.
6. Waard, Jan van der; Jorritsma, Peter; Immers, Ben (October 2012). "New Drivers in Mobility: What Moves the Dutch in 2012 and Beyond?" (PDF). Delft, the Netherlands: OECD International Transport Forum. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-01-17. Retrieved 2014-07-07. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
7. "Kerncijfers". Archived from the original on 2014-10-06. Retrieved 2014-09-30.