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The Haarlemmermeer railway lines (Dutch : Haarlemmermeerspoorlijnen) are a former network of railway lines in the area between Haarlem, Amsterdam, Utrecht and Leiden. Despite the name they did not all travel over the territory that formerly comprise the Haarlemmermeer lake before it was drained.
The first plans for railway lines through the Haarlemmermeer polder were presented in 1864 by mayor Amersfoort, twelve years after the dredging of the lake and creation of the polder. However none of the plans was executed. In 1898 the HESM (Hollandsche Electrische-Spoorweg-Maatschappij, "Holland Electric Railway Company") was established with the goal of building electric railways in the area between South Amsterdam and Haarlem. After the HSM bought up the shares, the plans were changed and this led, in the end, to the establishment of a local network of steam railways.
The lines were built by the HESM. Despite the name including the term "electric", the lines were never electrified. Only steam trains served for passenger traffic.
The first lines opened in 1912, almost a half century after the first plans were drawn up. The lines lay in the area between Amsterdam, Haarlem, Leiden, Alphen aan den Rijn and Nieuwersluis, and were opened between 1912 and 1918. Because of the 1930s Depression, various lines were closed after only two decades. Only the Amsterdam Haarlemmermeerstation – Amstelveen – Aalsmeer and Bovenkerk – Uithoorn – Nieuwersluis lines remained in service for passenger and cargo traffic.
The last passenger train ran in 1950. In 1972 the lines were closed for freight, except for the Amsterdam – Uithoorn route, which remained in service between 1976 and 1981 to transport building materials for the new Schiphollijn (which originally had no connection to the rest of the national railway network) and Uithoorn – Nieuwersluis, which remained in service until 1986 to serve the Koek scrapyard in Mijdrecht, where the Dutch Railways demolished a lot of equipment.
The lines have, in the meantime, all been dug up, with the exception of the Amsterdam – Amstelveen – Bovenkerk line, which was electrified between 1975 and 1997 and is used by the Electric Tramway Museum Amsterdam .
In many places there are still the remains of dikes, and various stations and stops are still recognizable and used as residences, including stations in Amsterdam, Amstelveen, Aalsmeer, Uithoorn, Hoofddorp, Mijdrecht, Nieuwveen, Wilnis and Aarlanderveen.
In September 2004, the Amstelveen light rail line was extended from Poortwachter to Westwijk and reused the embankment of the old Bovenkerk–Uithoorn line on the curve west of Spinnerij to the south of Westwijk. Plans exist to extend the Amstelveen line to Uithoorn. In Uithoorn part of the old railway dike is in use as a bus lane. Further south, portions of the railway dike have been used as rights of way for new provincial highways.
Aalsmeer is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. Its name is derived from the Dutch for eel (aal) and lake (meer). Aalsmeer is bordered by the Westeinderplassen lake, the largest open water of the Randstad, and the Ringvaart Canal. The town is located 13 km (8 mi) southwest of Amsterdam.
Amstelveen is a municipality in the province of North Holland, Netherlands, with a population of 92,353 as of 2022. It is a suburban part of the Amsterdam metropolitan area.
Haarlemmermeer is a municipality in the west of the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. Haarlemmermeer is a polder, consisting of land reclaimed from water. The name Haarlemmermeer means 'Haarlem's lake', referring to the body of water from which the region was reclaimed in the 19th century.
Hoofddorp is the main town of the municipality of Haarlemmermeer, in the province of North Holland, the Netherlands. In 2021, the population was 77,885. The town was founded in 1853, immediately after the Haarlemmermeer had been drained.
The Amsterdam Metro is a rapid transit system serving Amsterdam, Netherlands, and extending to the surrounding municipalities of Diemen and Ouder-Amstel. Until 2019 it also served the municipality of Amstelveen but this route was closed and converted into a tram line. The network is owned by the City of Amsterdam and operated by municipal public transport company Gemeente Vervoerbedrijf (GVB) which also operates trams, free ferries and local buses.
The UNESCO World Heritage Site known as the Defence Line of Amsterdam is a 135-kilometre (84 mi) ring of fortifications around Amsterdam. It has 42 forts that are 10–15 kilometres (6.2–9.3 mi) from the centre and lowlands, which can easily be flooded in time of war. The flooding was designed to give a depth of about 30 centimetres (12 in), too little for boats to cross. Any buildings within 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) of the line had to be made of wood so that they could be burnt and the obstruction removed.
Amsterdam Zuid is a railway station situated in the borough of Amsterdam-Zuid in Amsterdam, Netherlands. For a number of years, it was named Amsterdam Zuid WTC, in reference to the neighbouring World Trade Center Amsterdam. During 2006, in conjunction with the rapid development of the area surrounding the station, the station was enlarged and the reference to the WTC was formally dropped from the name.
Vijfhuizen is a village in the Dutch province of North Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Haarlemmermeer, and lies about 4 km southeast of Haarlem. In January 2011, the town of Vijfhuizen had 4387 inhabitants. The built-up area of the town was 0.48 km2, and contained 728 residences. The wider statistical area of Vijfhuizen has a population of around 2800.
Zuidtangent is the former name of the bus rapid transit service between Haarlem, Hoofddorp, and Amsterdam in the Netherlands. The Zuidtangent has been established in 2002 and was rebranded as R-net (Randstad-net) in 2011 when it became part of its eponymous regional service. Across the entire R-net network vehicles will be painted into the original Zuidtangent colour palette of dark grey and red.
Amsterdam Bijlmer ArenA, previously named Amsterdam Bijlmer (1971–2006), is a railway station in the Bijlmermeer neighbourhood of stadsdeel (borough) Amsterdam-Zuidoost in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The station has five platforms and eight tracks; two for the Amsterdam Metro and six train tracks, along with a bus station. Train services are operated by Nederlandse Spoorwegen.
Hoofddorp is a railway station in Hoofddorp, Netherlands located on the Weesp–Leiden railway.
Nieuw-Vennep is a railway station in Nieuw-Vennep, Netherlands located on the Weesp–Leiden railway. It the second station in Nieuw Vennep; there existed an earlier one on the Hoofddorp–Leiden railway. This station opened in 1912 and closed in 1936.
Alphen a/d Rijn railway station is a railway station in Alphen aan den Rijn, Netherlands.
Amstelveenseweg is an Amsterdam Metro station in the south of Amsterdam, Netherlands. The station opened in 1997 and is served by line 50 and 51.
Schiphol Airport railway station is a major passenger railway station in Haarlemmermeer, Netherlands, beneath the terminal complex of Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, operated by the Nederlandse Spoorwegen. The station's six platforms are accessible via twelve escalators and three elevators located in the main concourse of the airport. The original station was opened in 1978, and the current station in 1995. It connects the airport to Amsterdam and other cities in the Netherlands, as well as to Belgium and France.
Westwijk is a tram stop serving the neighborhood of Westwijk in the city of Amstelveen, Netherlands. It is the southern terminus of tram line 25, dubbed the Amsteltram before it received its line number. It opened officially on 13 December 2020, unofficially 4 days earlier on 9 December.
Amsterdam tram line 25, also known as the Amsteltram, is a tram line between Amsterdam Zuid station in Amsterdam and Westwijk in Amstelveen. It officially opened on 13 December 2020. Work is underway to extend the Amsteltram further south to the municipality of Uithoorn. The tram line replaced metro line 51, a light rail line (sneltram) that ceased running south of Amsterdam Zuid station on 3 March 2019 to convert it for low-floor trams. Tram line 5 shares the stops with line 25 between Zuid station and Oranjebaan stations. Line 5 had also shared the same tracks with metro line 51, the former using low-level platforms for regular trams, and the latter using high-level platforms.
The NS 7100 was a series of tank engines of the Dutch Railways (NS) and its predecessors Maatschappij tot Exploitatie van Staatsspoorwegen (SS), Hollandsche IJzeren Spoorweg-Maatschappij (HSM) and Noord-Friesche Locaalspoorweg-Maatschappij (NFLS).