RandstadRail

RandstadRail is a light rail project in the southern area of the Randstad conurbation in the west of The Netherlands. It connects the cities of The Hague, Zoetermeer and Rotterdam, also serving the suburban areas between them. It consists of three lines, one between the large cities of The Hague and Rotterdam (Erasmuslijn) and two lines from The Hague to Zoetermeer. The new lightrail vehicles run mainly on existing routes converted from both train and tram tracks.

Routes

The Hague to Rotterdam

Between the large cities of The Hague and Rotterdam, the Erasmus Line, "Erasmuslijn" in Dutch, runs on the tracks of the old "Hofpleinlijn", a former train route. Starting in November 2006 metro vehicles from the RET company serviced the route from Rotterdam Hofplein station to The Hague Central station. More stops were added and frequencies increased in the conversion from a train to a lightrail system. After a period of technical problems and a derailment, the line has been in full operation again since September 2007. A tunnel connecting the line to the existing Rotterdam Metro network is planned to be completed in 2008.

The Hague to Zoetermeer

RandstadRail lines "3" and "4" are light rail connections, run by the HTM company, stretching from the southwest of The Hague to Zoetermeer. Existing tram tracks in The Hague have been adapted for the longer and wider vehicles. More tram lines are scheduled for conversion to RandstadRail lines in the The Hague area in the future.

Line 3 runs from Loosduinen in the southwest of The Hague through the city center and then turns into a circle line serving the large suburb of Zoetermeer. Line 4 runs from the southern edge of The Hague through the city center to the east of Zoetermeer.

Zoetermeer already had a city railway, called Stadslijn. It was the only city railway in The Netherlands and was comparable with the Stadtbahn in Berlin and the RER in Paris. The Stadslijn has been completely rebuilt to accommodate the new RandstadRail. Because the existing railway is now connected to the tram tracks in The Hague, there is no more need to transfer from tram to train or vice versa.

Problems

After the introduction of the rail service there have been a number of derailments. The derailment of November 29, 2006 caused 17 passengers to be injured. After extensive investigations, all lines are now fully operational.

See also

* RijnGouweLijn
* List of Rotterdam metro stations

References

External links

* http://www.randstadrail.nl
* [http://connectedcities.eu/guide/randstadrail.html RandstadRail factsheet]
* http://www.urbanrail.net/eu/dhg/den-haag.htm