Railway line Amsterdam – Arnhem
The Amsterdam – Arnhem railway line , also known as the Rhijnspoorweg , is a railway line between Amsterdam and Arnhem in the Netherlands . The railway line is one of the most important railway corridors in the Netherlands and the most important railway line for cross-border traffic to Germany. The route is about 92 kilometers.
history
The first section between Amsterdam-Weesperpoort and Utrecht CS was opened on December 18, 1843. On June 17, 1844, the second section between Utrecht CS and Driebergen-Zeist was inaugurated. On March 15, 1845, the section between Driebergen-Zeist and Veenendaal-de Klomp followed and two months later the section from Veenendaal-De Klomp to Arnhem. The entire line was initially built in 1945 mm wide gauge , but this profile did not match the German rail network, which is why the line had to be completely converted to standard gauge in 1855.
Almost eleven years after the completion of the original route, construction continued towards Germany. The section to the German border near Zevenaar on the Oberhausen – Arnhem railway line was opened on February 15, 1856. With the construction of this line, the trains from Amsterdam could now also reach the German cities of Duisburg , Düsseldorf and Cologne on the main line of the Cologne-Mindener Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft .
The last section of the station Amsterdam-Weesperpoort to Amsterdam Central Station was opened on October 15, 1939th The electrification with the 1,500 volts DC voltage customary at the time took place on the section from Amsterdam to Arnhem on April 7, 1938, the section from Arnhem to Emmerich am Rhein on May 22, 1966. In the meantime, the section to Utrecht has been prepared for the change to the 25,000 volt AC voltage (50 Hertz) that is now customary internationally .
Train traffic
The Intercity trains from Nijmegen to Den Helder and the ICE-International from Frankfurt am Main to Amsterdam are currently running on the entire route . On parts of the route there are also intercity trains from Nijmegen to Schiphol Airport , from Maastricht to Amsterdam and from Heerlen to Schiphol, as well as regional trains from Arnhem to Ede-Wageningen , from (peak times: Amsterdam -) Breukelen to Rhenen and from Amsterdam via Breukelen and Woerden to Rotterdam . The route is also important for freight traffic from Amsterdam to Germany and beyond.
Extension of the Amsterdam-Utrecht line
This section was expanded from 2 to 4 tracks. Slow trains primarily use the inner tracks, while the fast trains run on the outer tracks. The line was expanded for a maximum speed of 200 km / h and provided with an overhead line that can be converted to 25 kV 50 Hz. In addition to the conventional Dutch ATB train protection , ETCS Level 2 was also installed as train protection . The latter system is still in test operation. In contrast to ATB, with ETCS the signaling of speeds over 140 km / h is possible. At the same time, the Utrechtboog junction, also designed for high speeds, was built in Amsterdam-Bijlmer, via which direct trains can run from Utrecht to Schiphol Airport .
Planning
The plans actually provided for the construction of a new high-speed line parallel to the existing tracks called HSL-Oost . However, these plans were discarded and changed so that the line will be expanded to speeds of 200 km / h.