RandstadRail () is a light rail network in the

Rotterdam–The Hague metropolitan area The Rotterdam–The Hague metropolitan area ( nl, Metropoolregio Rotterdam Den Haag) is a metropolitan area encompassing the cities of Rotterdam and The Hague as well as 21 other municipalities. It was founded in 2014. The area has a population of ...

in the west of the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

that is jointly operated by

HTM Personenvervoer HTM Personenvervoer NV (HTM, from the former name Haagsche Tramweg Maatschappij) is a public transport company in the Netherlands operating trams, lightrail and buses in The Hague, Rijswijk, Leidschendam, Voorburg, Delft, Zoetermeer, Wateringen ...

(HTM) and

Rotterdamse Elektrische Tram Rotterdamse Elektrische Tram (RET; en, Rotterdam Electric Tram) is the main public transport operator in Rotterdam, Netherlands. It started in 1905 when they took over the city tram lines from RTM (Rotterdamsche Tramweg Maatschappij). It currentl ...

(RET). It connects the cities of

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte (river), Rotte'') is the second largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the Prov ...

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital o ...

and

Zoetermeer Zoetermeer () is a city in the Western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality covers an area of of which is water. A small village until the late 1960s, it had 6,392 inhabitants in 1950. By 2013 this had grown to 123,328 ...

, primarily using former

train In rail transport, a train (from Old French , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles that run along a railway track and transport people or freight. Trains are typically pulled or pushed by locomotives (often ...

and existing

tram A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport ...

tracks. Named after the

Randstad The Randstad (; "Rim" or "Edge" City) is a roughly crescent-shaped conurbation in the central-western Netherlands, consisting primarily of the four largest Dutch cities (Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague, and Utrecht); their suburbs, and many tow ...

conurbation, the light rail network came into operation in 2006, after regular train services on the Hofpleinlijn and

Zoetermeer Stadslijn Zoetermeer Stadslijn is a light-rail line converted from a former commuter rail line in the Netherlands, between The Hague and Zoetermeer. History Originally, the line was managed by the Dutch Railways (NS). Since June 2006, it has served as a ...

had been discontinued. The system consists of four routes and serves 73 stations, with a total length of approximately . In 2018, it had a daily ridership of around 125,000 passengers.

Light rail network

The RandstadRail network consists of four routes: one metro line (E) between The Hague and Rotterdam, and three

tram-train A tram-train is a type of light rail vehicle that meets the standards of a light rail system (usually an urban street running tramway), but which also meets national mainline standards permitting operation alongside mainline trains. This al ...

lines (3, 4 and 34) between The Hague and Zoetermeer. Line E is operated by RET and uses

high-floor High-floor describes the interior flooring of commuter vehicles primarily used in public transport such as trains, light rail cars and other rail vehicles, along with buses and trolleybuses. Interior floor height is generally measured above the ...

Flexity Swift The Bombardier Flexity Swift is a series of urban and inter-urban tram, light rail and light metro vehicles manufactured by Bombardier Transportation. It is part of the Bombardier Flexity family of rail vehicles, and like the others, Flexity S ...

vehicles, while lines 3, 4 and 34 are operated by HTM and use

low-floor Accessibility is the design of products, devices, services, vehicles, or environments so as to be usable by people with disabilities. The concept of accessible design and practice of accessible development ensures both "direct access" (i. ...

RegioCitadis vehicles. Stations that are served by both types of carriages have extended platforms with a higher and a lower part.

Line E

Line E (formerly ) is a metro line, which also belongs to the Rotterdam Metro network. For a great part, it runs on the former Hofpleinlijn railway line between Den Haag Centraal railway station and Rotterdam Hofplein railway station. After the train services had been discontinued, the track was re-opened as a RandstadRail line in September 2006, running between

Nootdorp Nootdorp () is a small town in the Dutch province of South Holland. It is bordered by Zoetermeer to the north, by The Hague (specifically Leidschenveen-Ypenburg) to the west, by Delfgauw to the south and by Pijnacker to the east. Nootdorp was a ...

and Hofplein. In November 2006, the line was extended to The Hague. As part of the line's conversion to RandstadRail operation, it began using RET metro trains, and more stops were added and train frequencies increased. Although the conversion had not been flawless, with a series of technical problems and a

derailment In rail transport, a derailment occurs when a rail vehicle such as a train comes off its rails. Although many derailments are minor, all result in temporary disruption of the proper operation of the railway system and they are a potentially ...

, the line has been in full operation since September 2007. In 2010, Hofplein terminus was replaced with the , a bored tunnel connecting the line with the local metro network at

Rotterdam Centraal railway station Rotterdam Centraal railway station () is the main railway station of the city Rotterdam in South Holland, Netherlands. The station received an average of 112,000 passengers daily in 2019. The current station building, located at Station Square, ...

. In December 2011, the line was further extended to Slinge metro station in the south of Rotterdam, sharing the section between Rotterdam Centraal and Slinge with the already existing line D.

Lines 3, 4 and 34

The RandstadRail network originally included two

lines: line 3 between

Loosduinen Loosduinen () is a former village in the Netherlands that was a municipality unto itself until 1923, when it was annexed by The Hague and subsequently became a district of the city. Within the district there is also a neighbourhood (Dutch:wijk) c ...

and Zoetermeer Centrum-West, and line 4 between De Uithof and Lansingerland-Zoetermeer. On 23 July 2020, a third tram-train line was added to the network: line 34, which serves as a combination of lines 3 and 4, connecting Loosduinen to Lansingerland-Zoetermeer railway station. West of Den Haag Centraal railway station, these lines are operated as regular street-running tram lines, partially interlined with the local network and passing through the , a

tunnel A tunnel is an underground passageway, dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, and enclosed except for the entrance and exit, commonly at each end. A pipeline is not a tunnel, though some recent tunnels have used immersed tube cons ...

under the in the city centre. Between Den Haag Centraal and Zoetermeer, they operate on dedicated tracks as a light rail system. The section from Den Haag Centraal to Laan van NOI is elevated on a

viaduct A viaduct is a specific type of bridge that consists of a series of arches, piers or columns supporting a long elevated railway or road. Typically a viaduct connects two points of roughly equal elevation, allowing direct overpass across a wide v ...

. From Laan van NOI to Leidschenveen, the lines share the track and stations with line E. East of Leidschenveen, line 3 follows the same route as the former

, while lines 4 and 34 branch off towards

Oosterheem Oosterheem is one of the districts (wijken) of Zoetermeer. It lies in the north-east, near Benthuizen. There is a lot of building going on, and it is one of the most recent districts of Zoetermeer. Oosterheem has 23,379 citizens, using 8,554 hous ...

after Seghwaert station. In 2019, the Oosterheem branch was extended from Javalaan to Lansingerland-Zoetermeer.

Other services

ZoRo buses

In December 2012, two bus lines were added to the network. These so-called "ZoRo" buses run between

and

Rodenrijs RandstadRail station Rodenrijs is a metro station, as a part of the Rotterdam metro and the regional light rail system RandstadRail, located in Rodenrijs, the Netherlands. History The railway station opened here on 1 October 1908 as part of the Hofpleinlijn. As th ...

, where they connect with RandstadRail line E. A new bus lane was constructed for the project. The buses are operated by RET and have an almost instant connection to arriving metros at Rodenrijs station. At the termini in Zoetermeer, the ZoRo buses connect with regional bus lines (

Arriva Arriva plc is a British multinational public transport company headquartered in Sunderland, England.Veolia Transport Veolia Transport (formerly Connex and CGEA Transport) was the international transport services division of the French-based multinational company Veolia until the 2011 merger that gave rise to Veolia Transdev. Veolia Transport traded under the ...

) and RandstadRail lines 3, 4 and 34.

Associated tram lines

Despite not being a part of the RandstadRail network, lines 2 and 19 of HTM's local tram network make use of RandstadRail-liveried RegioCitadis vehicles in addition to the regular Siemens Avenio trams. For line 19, this is necessary as it lacks

balloon loop A balloon loop, turning loop, or reversing loop ( North American Terminology) allows a rail vehicle or train to reverse direction without having to shunt or stop. Balloon loops can be useful for passenger trains and unit freight trains. Bal ...

s at its termini, meaning that the uni-directional GTL8 vehicles cannot be used on this route. Since 2015, the rolling stock of line 2 has been gradually replaced by Avenio vehicles.

Gallery

Randstadrail Forepark.jpg, Line E at Forepark station GraphyArchy - Wikipedia 00109.jpg, Line E at Den Haag Centraal station 2008 RandstadRail Station Stadhuis (2).JPG, Line 3 at Stadhuis station (Zoetermeer) HTM 4011 Den Haag Spui 16-11-2006.jpg, Line 4 at Spui station in the Netkous in 2008 1.jpg, Line 4 at Beatrixkwartier station

References

External links

Official website
(archived)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Randstadrail Light rail in the Netherlands Railway lines in the Netherlands