Leiden Centraal is the main railway station in Leiden, a university city in the Netherlands. In 2019, it was the nation's sixth-most sixth-busiest station in terms of travel numbers, with 82,689 daily passengers. [1] The station is an important transit hub for approximately 35,000 non-resident higher education students, studying in the city, [2] and for Leiden's surrounding area, including the seaside town of Katwijk.
Leiden Station opened on 17 August 1842 as the southern terminus of the first expansion of the Old Line (Dutch: Oude Lijn) from Haarlem, operated by the Hollandsche IJzeren Spoorweg-Maatschappij (HIJSM). Because there was some delay in extending the line from the railroad bridge over the towing canal to Haarlem, a makeshift structure was constructed on the east side of the railroad bridge, which was the departure point for the first train from Leiden to Amsterdam.
A permanent building could be opened on 15 June 1843. This station was a modest, single-story affair and had been designed by railway engineers Frederik Willem Conrad and Cornelis Outshoorn , who were also responsible for Haarlem's first station. [3] It consisted of a small hall and two wings, which housed offices and services. At the time, the station site was part of the neighboring village of Oegstgeest rather than Leiden itself.
Like most of its generation, this original station soon proved to be far too small to cope with the growth of the railways. Its replacement, finished in 1879, came to serve not only the HIJSM line from Amsterdam to Rotterdam, but also the recently completed connection to Woerden, for which Leiden became the western terminus; for this reason it was officially referred to as a "shared station" (gemeenschappelijk station). [4] The line to Woerden was operated by the competing Nederlandsche Rhijnspoorweg-Maatschappij and allowed passengers to travel directly to Utrecht.
A basic design was produced by Dirk Margadant , which was then completed by Theodor Sanders . [5] This station took inspiration from Berlin's Lehrter Bahnhof, with which it shared a triumphal arch central window flanked by double columns in the façade. [6] Margadant would return to this idea in a more stylized form in his later design for the (still extant) railway station in Haarlem (1908).
While the new station's design was initially well-regarded, its eclectic style increasingly raised criticism. [7] More problematically, the ground-level crossings of the busy railway line caused increasing traffic and safety problems as the years went by. [8] Moreover, goods facilities were located at the front of the station and further limited space and access. This situation was made worse after the Blauwe Tram ("blue tram") linking Leiden to Scheveningen was connected to the station in 1924. On 11 December 1944, the station area was subjected to a bombing raid by the RAF aimed at nearby V-2 rocket installations. The building station itself was damaged as well, particularly the central arch window. [9] Although the damage was repaired after the war, the window was restored in a much simplified form.
These traffic issues led to the decision to elevate the railway lines, which necessitated reconstructing the station. An entirely new station building was opened in August 1953. [10] This station was designed by Herman Schelling , who had gained some renown as the architect of Amsterdam's Muiderpoort station. Stylistically, it matched his other post-war designs such as those in Enschede and Hengelo. While the end of the traffic problems around the staton was welcomed, Schelling's design itself was not received favorably. [11] Its rather austere style contrasted markedly with the opulent forms of its predecessor and was regarded as unbefitting Leiden's status as the predominant university city in the country. [12] In addition, increasing numbers of passengers soon caused the somewhat undersized building – with public areas not much larger than those of its predecessor – to become overcrowded.
Until 1976, Leiden station was a stop on the Oude Lijn where passengers could only change trains to the Woerden - Leiden line. However, after new connecting tracks were added in 1976 at Den Haag Laan van NOI Station, travelers could now connect to Den Haag Centraal Station, which had opened in 1973. This change made Leiden a much busier transfer point and further increased pressure on the small station. Now, passengers could choose to travel to Den Haag HS Station – like before – or to Den Haag Centraal Station, which is closer to the city center and has far more local transport options, including a big bus and tram hub.
The addition of the Schiphollijn in 1981 further increasing the station's capacity issues. Leiden now became an important transit hub to the nation's main airport. Because of the heavy traffic on the Schiphol line, the Leiden to The Hague section was running into delays, so it was expanded to four tracks. This required extending the station, which was done in 1995. However, due to its narrow platforms and the continued increase in passenger numbers, the decision was taken to replace the station with a new complex.
The fourth, and current, station was designed by NS architect Harry Reijnders and completed in 1996. Consisting of a white lattice structure, a curved, shell-like entrance leads into a ticketing hall lined with shops and catering facilities.
The new building officially opened on May 4, 1996. The station's structure was based on the Rail 21 plan, which allowed high-speed trains to pass through the middle of the station at 160 km/h. At first, there was a big, separate area for ticket sales at the main entrance. However, after ticket machines had been added to the station hall, this area became mostly unnecessary; it was also difficult to heat adequately due to its high ceiling. Initially, the floor had a bright blue and white finish. Problems with passengers slipping required that the floor be replaced with standard tiling.
Since the renovation, the station features a platform with two terminal tracks (Tracks 1 and 2), and two island platforms; one containing Tracks 4 and 5 on the city side, and one containing Tracks 8 and 9 on the western side, along with four tracks (3, 6, 7, and 10) not linked to a platform. The terminus platform was built around 1976; this change allowed trains to Alphen aan de Rijn and Utrecht to stop there, freeing up space on the island platforms for new services from Den Haag Centraal and eventually Schiphol. During renovations in 1996, the seaside island platform was moved westward, which made room to widen the central track, allowing international trains like the Thalys and the Benelux train to pass through since they hadn’t stopped here since 1998. The two island platforms were also extended so that two trains can stand one behind the other and be managed separately, thanks to crossover switches connecting them to the nearby tracks. As a result, some trains stop on the north side of the station, outside the protective canopy, away from the stairs, elevators, and main station hall.
On 22 May 1997, Leiden Station was renamed Leiden Centraal (Leiden Central) in recognition of the station's significance as the nation's fifth busiest.
In 2007, Leiden Centraal was renovated in accordance with the introduction of the OV-chipkaart, which created a nationwide smart card fare system. To implement the OV-chipkaart, ticket barriers were installed, separating the station into a paid and unpaid area. This caused some controversy because the building was also a popular and convenient walking route to the area at the station's rear, which contains the Leiden University Medical Center. [13] The platforms, waiting area, and several shops comprise the paid area, while the rest of the station (including ticket machines and other shops) is classified as unpaid. As of 2017 the barriers are no longer open, as the new ticket system is now mandatory.
In 1910, Sigmund Freud, the father of Psychoanalysis, and conductor and composer Gustav Mahler met at Leiden station. [14] It was also the site where the Leiden physicist Paul Ehrenfest picked up various friends and colleagues such as Albert Einstein, Niels Bohr and J. Robert Oppenheimer. [15]
As of 13 December 2020 [update] , the following train services call at this station:
For the bus services the responsible companies are Qbuzz and EBS.
| No. | Route | Via | |
|---|---|---|---|
| City service Leiden | |||
| 1 | Station De Vink - Leiderdorp, Leyhof | Stevenshof, Centraal Station, Station Lammenschans | |
| 2 | Station De Vink - Leiderdorp, Oranjewijk | Stevenshof, Centraal Station, Breestraat, Station Lammenschans, Leiderdorp, Rijnland Ziekenhuis | |
| 3 | Leiderdorp, Leyhof - Leiden, Merenwijk | Buitenhof, Rietschans, De Kooi, De Waard, Breestraat, Centraal Station, LUMC, Groenoord | |
| 4 | Station De Vink - Leiden, Merenwijk | Fortuinwijk, Station Lammenschans, Centraal Station, LUMC, Groenoord | |
| 9 | Leiden, Centraal Station - Bio Science Park | ||
| 14 | Station De Vink - Leiden, Centraal Station | Breestraat, Tuinstadwijk | |
| Around Leiden | |||
| 20 | Leiden, Centraal Station - Noordwijk, Vuurtorenplein | Oegstgeest, Rijnsburg | |
| 21 | Leiden, Centraal Station - Noordwijk, Vuurtorenplein | Oegstgeest, Rijnsburg | |
| 22 | Leiden, Centraal Station - Nieuw-Vennep, Station | Oegstgeest, Valkenburg, Katwijk aan den Rijn, Voorhout, Noordwijk, Noordwijkerhout, De Zilk, Hillegom, Station, Beinsdorp | |
| 23 | Leiden, Centraal Station - Noordwijk, Picképlein | Bio Science Park, N206, Valkenburg, Katwijk aan den Rijn | |
| 30 | Leiden, Centraal Station - Noordwijk, Willem van den Bergh | Oegstgeest, Rijnsburg, Katwijk aan den Rijn, Katwijk | |
| 31 | Leiden, Centraal Station - Noordwijk, Willem van den Bergh | Oegstgeest, Rijnsburg, Katwijk aan den Rijn, Katwijk | |
| 38 | Leiden, Centraal Station - Katwijk, Zonnebloemstraat/Unmanned Valley | Oegstgeest, Valkenburg, Katwijk aan den Rijn | |
| 43 | Leiden, Centraal Station - Den Haag, Centraal Station | Universiteitsterrein, Haagse Schouw, Wassenaar (De Kieviet, van Oldenbarneveltweg, Maaldrift), Mariahove, Bezuidenhout | |
| 45 | Leiden, Centraal Station - Den Haag, Centraal Station | Breestraat, Station Lammenschans, Voorschoten, GGZ Haagstreek, Station Leidschendam-Voorburg, Station Voorburg, Voorburg, Beatrixkwartier/Bezuidenhout | |
| 50 | Leiden, Centraal Station - Lisse, Meer en Duin | Oegstgeest, Warmond, Sassenheim | |
| 55 | Voorhout, Station - Voorschoten, Starrenburg | Sassenheim, Oegstgeest, Leiderdorp Rijnland Ziekenhuis, Leiden Centraal Station, Haagweg-Noord, Noord-Hofland, Vlietwijk, Station Voorschoten | |
| 56 | Sassenheim, Station - Roelofarendsveen, Stationsstraat | Oegstgeest, Leiden Centraal Station, Leiderdorp, Oud Ade, Rijpwetering, Nieuwe Wetering | |
| 169 | Leiden, Centraal Station - Alphen aan den Rijn, Station | Zoeterwoude-Rijndijk, Hazerswoude-Rijndijk, Koudekerk aan den Rijn | |
| 182 | Leiden, Centraal Station - Alphen aan den Rijn, Station | Leiderdorp, Hoogmade, Woubrugge, Ter Aar | |
| 183 | Oegstgeest, Corpus - Alphen aan den Rijn, Station | Leiden Centraal Station, Leiderdorp, Hoogmade, Woubrugge | |
| 250 | Leiden, Centraal Station - Haarlem, Station | Bio Science Park, A44/Sassenheim, Lisse, Hillegom, Bennebroek, Heemstede | |
| 365 | Leiden, Centraal Station - Schiphol, Plaza | Leiderdorp, Roelofarendsveen, Oude Wetering, Weteringbrug, Hoofddorp, De Hoek | |
| 366 | Leiden, Centraal Station - Leimuiden, Tuinderij | Leiderdorp, Roelofarendsveen, Oude Wetering, Weteringbrug, Leimuiderbrug | |
| 400 | Katwijk, ESA ESTEC - Zoetermeer, Centrum-West | Katwijk aan den Rijn, Valkenburg, Oegstgeest, Leiden Centraal Station, Zoeterwoude, Stompwijk | |
| 401 | Katwijk, Boulevard-South - Zoetermeer, Centrum-West | Katwijk aan den Rijn, Valkenburg, Oegstgeest, Leiden Centraal Station, Zoeterwoude, Stompwijk | |
| 410 | Leiden, Centraal Station - Leiderdorp, Alrijne Ziekenhuis | ||
| 854 | Leiden, Centraal Station - Lisse, Keukenhof | ||
