Utrecht Centraal, officially Station Utrecht Centraal (), is the transit hub that integrates three bicycle parkings, two bus stations, two tram stops and the central railway station for Utrecht, Netherlands. It is the biggest train station in the Netherlands.
Both the railway station and the bus station are the largest and busiest in the Netherlands. The bicycle parking station on the east side is the largest in the world.
The railway station has sixteen platform tracks (of which twelve are through tracks) and 207,360 embarking and disembarking passengers per day, excluding transfers. Because of its central location in the Netherlands, Utrecht Centraal is the most important railway hub of the country with more than 1,000 departures per day.
History
The first railway station at the site was opened on 18 December 1843, when the Nederlandsche Rhijnspoorweg-Maatschappij opened the first station on Utrecht territory.
In 1938, the station became the central station as the Maliebaanstation, on the other side of the city, was closed and the line from Hilversum was diverted into the central station. The station building of 1865 remained in place, though a fundamental renovation was done in 1936. Two years later, a fire burned down most of the building, which was subsequently rebuilt.
The station building was demolished in the 1970s to make way for Hoog Catharijne, then Europe's largest enclosed shopping mall, which opened on 17 December 1973. From that moment onwards, the station no longer had a real entrance; the passageways of the shopping mall just continued into the station. In 1989 the station hall was enlarged (tripling the original size) to increase capacity and to solve bottlenecks. In 1995, the station hall was again enlarged, with the construction of a new platform.
Between 2011 and 2016, the station underwent a major reconstruction as one of the NSP projects of the Dutch government and as part of a general reconstruction of the Utrecht station area. The station hall was replaced by a new, much larger hall, housing all modes of public transport. The new structure with its curved roof, was designed by Benthem Crouwel Architekten. The roof has three curves: a large one in the middle for the railway station and two smaller ones for the bus/tram stations on either side. New sheltering roofs were built for all platforms and the station was separated from the Hoog Catharijne shopping area.
A scale model of Utrecht Centraal is on display at Madurodam.
Tram and bus facilities
Light-rail (sneltram) service at Utrecht Centraal began in 1983 with the opening of the SUNIJ line (sneltram Utrecht-Nieuwegein/IJsselstein). Its tram stop (named Utrecht Centraal) was originally located on the east side of the station. In 2009, when the nearby Moreelsepark tram terminal was closed, the Centraal stop was adapted to be the new terminal for the shortened SUNIJ line. At this time, the Centraal stop was given a minor makeover including provision for the OV-chipkaart and travel information displays.
In 2013, to accommodate construction work at the railway station, the SUNIJ line was further shortened. The Centraal stop on the east side of the station was closed and replaced by a stop at Jaarbeursplein on the west side of the railway station, becoming the temporary terminal of the SUNIJ line. The temporary Jaarbeursplein terminal had 3 tracks.
In July 2016, the bus terminal on the east side of the station was also relocated to the west side ('Jaarbeurszijde'). This move made space available on the east side of the station for the construction of a new Centrumzijde (downtown side) bus and tram terminal as well as the construction of a new tram line (Uithoflijn), a new station square (Stationsplein), a bicycle storage facility and the Moreelse bridge.
On 9 December 2019, the Centrumzijde bus and tram terminal opened at Utrecht Centraal. It is located under the main hall on the east side of the railway station, and riders can access it directly from the main hall. On 16 December 2019, the Uithof line (Uithoflijn, tram route 22) started operation running from Centrumzijde to P+R Science Centre in the Uithof district. Passengers who wanted to transfer between the SUNIJ and Uithof lines had to walk between the Jaarbeursplein and Centrumzide stops. There was a track between the two stops, but it was used only for Uithof trams returning to the depot without passengers. The platform heights for the SUNIJ and Uithof lines were incompatible.
On 4 July 2020, the SUNIJ line was shut down for renovation including rebuilding the Jaarbeursplein stop. The stop was converted from a terminal for high-floor trams to a through-station for longer, low-floor trams. The old platforms were demolished, and the stub siding was eliminated. New side platforms were built along the through-tracks. Electrical overhead wires and track switches were also replaced. On 3 January 2021, the Jaarbeursplein tram stop reopened with low-level platforms.
On 2 July 2022, through-passenger service started between the Jaarbeursplein and Centrumzijde stops, thus eliminating the 500-metre walking transfer between the two stops at Utrecht Centraal. Trams would travel via the station between Nieuwegein and IJsselstein on the SUNIJ line and the Uithof district on the Uithof line (Uithoflijn).
Train services International, national and local train services call at the station, most notably the Intercity-Express and NightJet trains to Germany, Switzerland and Austria, domestic Intercity services to all parts of the Netherlands, and local (Sprinter) services providing access to towns all over Utrecht province. Freight services also pass through the station, on the Amsterdam – Betuweroute – Ruhr corridor as well as the Antwerp – Northeast Germany corridor.
The following passenger services call at Utrecht Centraal (2024 timetable):
International services SeriesOperatorsRoute100 ICE 43Intercity-Express (NS International)Amsterdam Centraal – Utrecht Centraal – Arnhem Centraal – Oberhausen Hbf – Duisburg Hbf – Düsseldorf Hbf ] / [ Hannover Hbf – Minden (Westf) – Herford – Bielefeld Hbf – Gütersloh Hbf – Hamm (Westf) – Hagen Hbf – Wuppertal Hbf ] – Köln Hbf – Siegburg/Bonn – Frankfurt (Main) Flughafen Fernbahnhof – Mannheim Hbf – Karlsruhe Hbf – Offenburg – Freiburg (Breisgau) Hbf – Basel Bad Bf – Basel SBB120/220 ICE 78Intercity-Express (NS International)Amsterdam Centraal – Utrecht Centraal – Arnhem Centraal – Oberhausen Hbf – Duisburg Hbf – Düsseldorf Hbf – Köln Hbf – Frankfurt (Main) Flughafen Fernbahnhof – Frankfurt (Main) HbfNJ 400ÖBB Nightjet (ÖBB)Amsterdam Centraal – Utrecht Centraal – Arnhem Centraal – Innsbruck Hbf / Wien Hbf / Zürich HB
National services SeriesOperatorsRoute500Intercity (NS)Rotterdam Centraal – Utrecht Centraal – Amersfoort Centraal – Zwolle – Assen – Groningen600Intercity (NS)Leeuwarden – Meppel – Zwolle – Amersfoort Centraal – Utrecht Centraal – Rotterdam Centraal800Intercity (NS)Maastricht – Sittard – Roermond – Weert – Eindhoven Centraal – 's-Hertogenbosch – Utrecht Centraal – Amsterdam Centraal – Alkmaar – (Den Helder)1400Intercity (NS)Utrecht Centraal – Amsterdam Centraal – Schiphol Airport – Den Haag HS – Rotterdam Centraal1700Intercity (NS)Den Haag Centraal – Gouda – Utrecht Centraal – Amersfoort Centraal – Apeldoorn – Deventer – Almelo – Hengelo – Enschede11700Intercity (NS)Amersfoort Schothorst – Amersfoort Centraal – Utrecht Centraal – Gouda – Den Haag Centraal2000Intercity (NS)Den Haag Centraal – Gouda – Utrecht Centraal2800Intercity (NS)Den Haag Centraal – Gouda – Utrecht Centraal2900Intercity (NS)Enkhuizen – Hoorn – Amsterdam Centraal – Utrecht Centraal – 's-Hertogenbosch – Eindhoven Centraal – Weert – Roermond – Sittard – Maastricht3000Intercity (NS)Nijmegen – Arnhem Centraal – Ede-Wageningen – Veenendaal-De Klomp – Driebergen-Zeist – Utrecht Centraal – Amsterdam Centraal – Zaandam – Alkmaar – Den Helder3100Intercity (NS)Schiphol Airport – Utrecht Centraal – Veenendaal-De Klomp – Ede-Wageningen – Arnhem Centraal – Nijmegen3200Intercity (NS)Arnhem Centraal – Ede-Wageningen – Utrecht Centraal – Amsterdam Zuid – Schiphol Airport – Leiden Centraal – Den Haag HS – Delft – Schiedam Centrum – Rotterdam Centraal3500Intercity (NS)Schiphol Airport – Utrecht Centraal – 's-Hertogenbosch – Eindhoven Centraal – Helmond – Venlo3700Intercity (NS)Dordrecht – Rotterdam Centraal – Schiedam Centrum – Delft – Den Haag HS – Leiden Centraal – Schiphol Airport – Amsterdam Zuid – Utrecht Centraal – 's-Hertogenbosch – Eindhoven Centraal – Helmond – Venlo3900Intercity (NS)Enkhuizen – Hoorn – Amsterdam Centraal – Utrecht Centraal – 's-Hertogenbosch – Eindhoven Centraal – Weert – Roermond – Sittard – Heerlen4900Intercity (NS)Utrecht Centraal – Hilversum – Almere Centrum14900Sprinter (NS)Almere Centrum – Hilversum – Utrecht Centraal5500Sprinter (NS)Utrecht Centraal – Den Dolder – Baarn5600Sprinter (NS)Utrecht Centraal – Amersfoort Centraal – Zwolle5700Sprinter (NS)Utrecht Centraal – Hilversum – Weesp – Amsterdam Zuid – Schiphol Airport – Hoofddorp6000Sprinter (NS)Utrecht Centraal – Geldermalsen – 's-Hertogenbosch6700Sprinter (NS)Utrecht Centraal – Geldermalsen – Tiel6900Sprinter (NS)Den Haag Centraal – Gouda – Utrecht Centraal7300Sprinter (NS)Breukelen – Utrecht Centraal – Driebergen-Zeist – Veenendaal Centrum – Rhenen7400Sprinter (NS)Uitgeest – Zaandam – Amsterdam Centraal – Breukelen – Utrecht Centraal – Driebergen-Zeist8800Sprinter (NS)Leiden Centraal – Alphen a/d Rijn – Woerden – Utrecht Centraal8900Sprinter (NS)(Leiden Centraal – Alphen a/d Rijn – )Woerden – Utrecht Centraal14000Sprinter (NS)Utrecht Centraal – Gouda – Rotterdam Centraal21400Intercity (NS)Rotterdam Centraal – Eindhoven Centraal; Tilburg – 's-Hertogenbosch; Eindhoven Centraal – Utrecht Centraal22400Intercity (NS)Utrecht Centraal – Amersfoort Centraal23400Intercity (NS)Utrecht Centraal – Driebergen-Zeist – Veenendaal-De Klomp – Ede-Wageningen – Arnhem Centraal – Elst – Nijmegen28300Sprinter (NS)Utrecht Centraal – Utrecht Maliebaan32700Nachttrein (Arriva)Maastricht – Sittard – Roermond – Weert – Eindhoven Centraal – 's-Hertogenbosch – Utrecht Centraal – Amsterdam Bijlmer ArenA – Amsterdam Zuid – Schiphol Airport
Timetable The train services are scheduled in such a way, that there is a basic frequency of an Intercity and a Sprinter every 15 minutes in every direction from Utrecht Centraal. The Intercity trains on the routes Amsterdam – Utrecht, Schiphol – Utrecht, Utrecht – Arnhem and Utrecht – Eindhoven run every 10 minutes.
Some services run only during the peak hour, but on most lines the basic frequency is offered all day. On Sunday mornings and late evenings some services do not run, but even during those times, there is always an Intercity and a Sprinter at least every 30 minutes in every direction.
Redesign of the track layout
As the central hub of the Dutch railway network, disruptions at Utrecht Centraal can easily affect the rest of the country's railway network. 2–3 times per year, such disruptions led to a snowball effect, resulting in a total standstill of railway traffic in a wide area around Utrecht Centraal.
As part of a general effort to improve the reliability of the Dutch railway network and because of the High-Frequency programme (PHS) of the Dutch government, it was decided to remodel the track layout of the station, an investment of €270 million.
Reasons for the redesign The Ministry of Infrastructure described the reasons for the project as follows:
The problem of the old layout Insufficient capacity for the desired intensities of passenger and freight trains. This concerns railway infrastructure capacity as well as transfer capacity. Insufficient quality of the railway service. The punctuality of the passenger service in Utrecht is structurally lower than in the rest of the country.