Elst–Dordrecht railway

Elst–Dordrecht railway
Overview
Status	Operational
Locale	The Netherlands
Termini	Elst railway station Dordrecht railway station
Operation
Opened	1882 - 1885
Operator(s)	Nederlandse Spoorwegen, Arriva, Syntus
Technical
Line length	92.8 km (57.7 mi)
No. of tracks	Double track (Vork–Geldermalsen) Single track (Elst–Vork, Geldermalsen–Dordrecht)
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) Standard gauge
Electrification	1.5 kV DC (Tiel–Dordrecht)
Route map Legend Line from Arnhem 0.0 Elst Line to Nijmegen 11.1 Zetten-Andelst 14.5 Hemmen-Dodewaard 17.0 Opheusden 20.7 Kesteren to Rhenen Amsterdam–Rhine Canal 32.8 Tiel 35.0 Tiel Passewaaij Line from 's-Hertogenbosch 44.7 Geldermalsen River Linge Line to Utrecht 51.5 Beesd 58.3 Leerdam 65.7 Arkel 70.4 Gorinchem 79.8 Hardinxveld-Giessendam 83.8 Sliedrecht River Beneden Merwede 90.7 Dordrecht Stadspolders Line from Breda 92.8 Dordrecht Line to Rotterdam

The Elst–Dordrecht railway is a railway line in the Netherlands running from Elst to Dordrecht, passing through Tiel, Geldermalsen and Gorinchem. It is also called the Betuwelijn ("Betuwe" line) or Merwede-Lingelijn ("Merwede-Linge line") in Dutch. It is operated by Arriva, Syntus and Nederlandse Spoorwegen.

Timeline

• 1 November 1882 - Railway line opens between Elst and Geldermalsen
• 1 December 1883 - Railway line opens between Geldermalsen and Gorinchem
• 16 July 1885 - Railway line opens between Gorinchem and Dordrecht
• 15 May 1927 - Giessen-Oudekerk station closes
• 15 May 1938 - Arkel station closes
• 10 June 1940 - Arkel station re-opens
• 2 June 1957 - Hardinxveld-Giessendam station opens
• 27 May 1990 - Dordrecht Stadspolders station opens
• 1992 - Line is electrified
• December 2006 - Arriva wins contract to operate the service
• December 2006 - A half hourly service operates 7 days a week, starting earlier and finishing later. Improved connection times at Dordrecht for Rotterdam, Den Haag and Amsterdam and at Geldermalsen for Utrecht
• 14 September 2008 - New Spurt material is put into service on the line

Future

In the future there are plans for several new stations. They are planned to open in 2011.

These are:

• Sliedrecht Baanhoek (Between Dordrecht Stadspolders and Sliedrecht)
• Giessendam West (Between Hardinxveld-Giessendam and Gorinchem)
• Boven-Hardinxveld (Between Hardinxveld-Giessendam and Gorinchem)
• Gorinchem Papland (Between Gorinchem and Arkel)
• Leerdam West (Between Leerdam and Beesd)

A quarter hourly service between Gorinchem and Dordrecht is planned, by building passing loops at Dordrecht Stadspolders and Boven-Hardinxveld.

Train services

The current train services operating on the Merwede-Lingelijn are:

Series	Train type	Route	Material	Notes
32500	Arriva stoptrein	Dordrecht - Dordrecht Stadspolders - Sliedrecht - Hardinxveld-Giessendam - Gorinchem - Arkel - Leerdam - Beesd - Geldermalsen	Spurt (Stadler GTW)