Den Haag Centraal - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Den Haag Centraal is the largest train station

Train station

A train station, also called a railroad station or railway station and often shortened to just station,"Station" is commonly understood to mean "train station" unless otherwise qualified. This is evident from dictionary entries e.g...

in the Dutch city of The Hague

The Hague

The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...

. It is the largest terminal station

Terminal Station

Terminal Station is a 1953 film by Italian director Vittorio De Sica. It tells the story of the love affair between an Italian man and an American woman. The film was entered into the 1953 Cannes Film Festival.-Production:...

in the Netherlands with 12 tracks. The station was completed in 1973, next to the older station Den Haag Staatsspoor. It is the western terminus of the Gouda–Den Haag railway

Gouda–Den Haag railway

The Gouda–Den Haag railway is a heavily used railway line in the Netherlands, running from Gouda to Den Haag , passing through Zoetermeer...

History

The oldest station in The Hague is Den Haag Hollands Spoor
Den Haag Hollands Spoor railway station
The Den Haag Hollands Spoor railway station, also known as Den Haag HS, is the oldest railway station in The Hague, Netherlands. It was opened in 1843, when the Amsterdam–Haarlem railway, the oldest railway line in the country, was extended to The Hague. This line was further extended to Rotterdam...

on the main line from Amsterdam

Amsterdam

Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...

to Rotterdam

Rotterdam

Rotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Starting as a dam on the Rotte river, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre...

, opened in 1843 by the Hollandsche IJzeren Spoorweg-Maatschappij
Hollandsche IJzeren Spoorweg-Maatschappij
The Hollandsche IJzeren Spoorweg-Maatschappij or HSM was the first railway company in the Netherlands founded on 8 August 1837 as a private company, starting operation in 1839 with a line between Amsterdam and Haarlem...

(Dutch Iron Railroad Company). This station was built at some distance from the city center.

In 1870, the Nederlandsche Rhijnspoorweg-Maatschappij (Dutch Rhine-railroad Company) opened a second station in the Hague, Den Haag Rijnspoor for trains to Gouda

Gouda

Gouda is a city and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. Gouda, which was granted city rights in 1272, is famous for its Gouda cheese, smoking pipes, and 15th-century city hall....

and Utrecht

Utrecht (city)

Utrecht city and municipality is the capital and most populous city of the Dutch province of Utrecht. It is located in the eastern corner of the Randstad conurbation, and is the fourth largest city of the Netherlands with a population of 312,634 on 1 Jan 2011.Utrecht's ancient city centre features...

. This station was built much closer to the city centre. From 1888 this railroad was the property of the Maatschappij tot Exploitatie van Staatsspoorwegen

Maatschappij tot Exploitatie van Staatsspoorwegen

The Maatschappij tot Exploitatie van Staatsspoorwegen or SS was a private railroad founded to utilise the government funded railways. The company existed until 1938, when it formally merged with the Hollandsche IJzeren Spoorweg-Maatschappij to form the Nederlandse Spoorwegen...

(State Railway Operation Company); the station was renamed Den Haag Staatsspoor.

In the 1970s, Nederlandse Spoorwegen

Nederlandse Spoorwegen

Nederlandse Spoorwegen , or NS, is the principal passenger railway operator in the Netherlands.Its trains operate over the tracks of the Dutch national railinfrastructure, operated by ProRail, which was split off from NS in 2003...

decided to build Centraal Station in The Hague. The best location seemed to be the Hollands Spoor-station, as this was the station for mainline trains between Amsterdam

Amsterdam

and Rotterdam

Rotterdam

.

Nevertheless, The Hague wanted the station to be at the location of the Staatsspoor-station, so the new Centraal Station was built right next to it. At the moment this was completed and in use, the old station was demolished. Connecting tracks were built to connect the line from Amsterdam to Den Haag Centraal. Although The Hague now has a Central Station, only trains for which The Hague is the final destination halt here. Still, all Intercity

Inter-city rail

Inter-city rail services are express passenger train services that cover longer distances than commuter or regional trains.There is no precise definition of inter-city rail. Its meaning may vary from country to country...

- and international trains between Amsterdam and Rotterdam only halt at Hollands Spoor. Nowadays, The Hague is the only city in the Netherlands which still has two major train stations.

Train services

The following services call at Den Haag Centraal:

1x per hour intercity service The Hague - Utrecht - Amersfoort - Zwolle - Groningen
1x per hour intercity service The Hague - Utrecht - Amersfoort - Hengelo - Enschede
2x per hour intercity service The Hague - Rotterdam - Breda - Eindhoven - Venlo
2x per hour intercity service The Hague - Utrecht
2x per hour express service (sneltrein) Amsterdam - Schiphol - The Hague
2x per hour express service (sneltrein) Hoorn - Alkmaar - Haarlem - The Hague
2x per hour local service (stoptrein) The Hague - Rotterdam - Dordrecht - Roosendaal
2x per hour local service (stoptrein) The Hague - Leiden - Haarlem
2x per hour local service (sprinter) The Hague - Gouda - Utrecht
2x per hour local service (stoptrein) The Hague - Gouda Goverwelle

History

Train services

See also