[ UrbanRail.Net ]     [ Europe ] [ America ] [ Asia ] [ Africa ]     [ News ] [ Books ] [ Links ]

Den Haag (The Hague) has a population of approx. 480,000, with some 975,000 in the metropolitan area. It is situated in the east of Randstad Holland. The Hague is the seat of the national government and home of international institutions like Europol, the Peace Palace, the International Crime Court of the UN, and more than 80 embassies and many multinational companies. The city has a tram network with a total length of 105 km.

On 16 October 2004, a short tram tunnel opened in central Den Haag after several years of delay. The 1.3 km underground section runs under Grote Marktstraat and includes two underground stations, Grote Markt and Spui, both built together with a large car park. The tram tunnel is used by lines 2, RR3, RR4 and 6.

The underground tram section (Souterrain) is part of a large project called RandstadRail, which basically consists of two parts:

The former suburban railway, the Zoetermeer Stadslijn formerly operated by NS (Dutch Railways), was converted from heavy rail to light rail operation and linked it to the tram network of Den Haag. The stations were rebuilt with 30 cm high platforms and new stops were added, the most spectacular being the one at Beatrixkwartier (designed by Zwarts and Jansma), in a new office development area. In Zoetermeer, a 2.5 km branch to Oosterheem was added to the existing loop. The two Zoetermeer lines were linked to the western legs of the existing tram lines 3 and 6 (now cut back to Leyenburg) and are operated by HTM with new Alstom Regio Citadis rolling stock:

RR3: Loosduinen - Den Haag CS - Zoetermeer loop - Centrum West
RR4: De Uithof - Den Haag CS - Zoetermeer Centrum West - Oosterheem

Grote Markt | Spui | Beatrixkwartier

Leidschenveen | Zoetermeer Centrum West | Seghwaert

The former NS Hofpleinlijn between Rotterdam and Den Haag that starts at the current Hofplein station in Rotterdam was converted from heavy rail to metro operation. From late 2009 (or 2010), the new line will be jointly operated with the Erasmuslijn (north-south metro line) in Rotterdam and terminate at Slinge. From the Erasmuslijn's current terminus at the Central Station, a 3 km tunnel is being built towards the north to link up with the existing rail line. On this tunnel section there will be one new underground station called Blijdorp. In Den Haag, the trains from Rotterdam will terminate on the lower level of the Centraal Station. Stations on this line will have 100 cm high platforms. The RandstadRail Erasmuslijn cannot be classified as a full metro extension, as several level crossings remain on the section that runs at grade.

In Nov. 2006, RET began operating RandstadRail between Rotterdam Hofplein and Den Haag CS, with trains every 15 minutes. RET started operation with 11 existing trainsets taken from the Calandlijn stock, equipped with a new ATP system. The maximum operation speed is 100 km/h, the power supply on the Hofpleinlijn was changed from 1500 V dc to 750 V dc. RET has ordered 21 trainsets 42.5 m long for delivery in 2008.

Between Leidschenveen and Laan van Noi, both systems share tracks. Platforms at these stations have both 30 cm and 90 cm high sections.

Laan van NOI | Pijnacker Centrum | Rotterdam Hofplein

16 Oct 2004: tram tunnel Spui - Grote Markt

29 Oct 2006: Den Haag Westeinde - Zoetermeer Centrum West (RandstadRail 3)
29 Oct 2006: Den Haag Monstersestraat – Zoetermeer Oosterheem (RandstadRail 4)

12 Nov 2006: Rotterdam Hofplein - Den Haag Centraal (RandstadRail Erasmuslijn)

29 Nov 2006: Service suspended on all routes following derailments, except for the section Rotterdam Hofplein - Nootdorp

03 Sept 2007: Service resumed between Nootdorp and Den Haag Centraal Station (RandstadRail Erasmuslijn)
08 Oct 2007: Service resumed between Den Haag Centraal and Zoetermeer Javalaan (RandstadRail 4)
20 Oct 2007: Service resumed between Den Haag Centraal and Zoetermeer Seghwaert (RandstadRail 3)
27 Oct 2007: Service resumed between Zoetermeer Seghwaert and Zoetermeer Centrum West (RandstadRail 3)

20 Jan 2009: Berkel-Westpolder station added

HTM - Den Haag City Transport

RandstadRail

RET (Official Page)

Haagse Trams incl. many photos

Haagse Tramnieuws Website of the Hague Tramway Friends

Haags Openbaar Vervoer Museum (Public Transport Museum)

Tramfoto.nl including many RandstadRail photos

UrbanRail.Net > Rotterdam Metro page