The Netherlands

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

 is connected to the European high-speed rail network

High-speed rail in Europe

High-speed rail is emerging in Europe as an increasingly popular and efficient means of transport. The first high-speed rail lines in Europe, built in the 1980s and 1990s, improved travel times on intra-national corridors. Since then, several countries have built extensive high-speed networks,...

 with one dedicated high-speed line

High-speed rail

High-speed rail is a type of passenger rail transport that operates significantly faster than the normal speed of rail traffic. Specific definitions by the European Union include for upgraded track and or faster for new track, whilst in the United States, the U.S...

 and improved traditional rail. A second dedicated high-speed line is being considered, but the plan has been put on hiatus.

Two high-speed train services currently operate in the Netherlands: Thalys

Thalys

Thalys is an international high-speed train operator originally built around the high-speed line between Paris and Brussels. This track is shared with Eurostar trains that go from Paris or Brussels to London via Lille and the Channel Tunnel and with French domestic TGV trains. Thalys reaches...

 and InterCityExpress

InterCityExpress

The Intercity-Express or ICE is a system of high-speed trains predominantly running in Germany and neighbouring countries. It is the highest service category offered by DB Fernverkehr and is the flagship of Deutsche Bahn...

 (ICE). Thalys started operating on the HSL-Zuid

HSL-Zuid

HSL-Zuid , is a 125 km-long high-speed railway line in the Netherlands to the Belgian border, with a branch to Breda. Together with the Belgian HSL 4 it forms the Schiphol–Antwerp high-speed railway...

 on 13 December 2009. Additionally, late 2011, NS Hispeed

NS Hispeed

NS Hispeed is the rail operator in the Netherlands that operates international intercity and high-speed train connections as well as national high-speed trains over the HSL-Zuid high speed line, which are branded as Fyra....

 and NMBS/SNCB

NMBS/SNCB

The National Railway Company of Belgium, known as the or the Société Nationale des Chemins de fer Belges is the Belgian national railway operator.It is usually referred to in English as "Belgian Railways" or the SNCB....

 plan to start operations through their Fyra

Fyra

Fyra is a high-speed train service operating on the Dutch HSL-Zuid and planned for the Belgian HSL 4, between Amsterdam, Schiphol Airport, Rotterdam, Breda, Antwerp, and Brussels. Fyra shares the high-speed tracks with operator Thalys. The service is offered by NS Hispeed and the NMBS/SNCB...

 service.

HSL-Zuid

HSL-Zuid

HSL-Zuid

HSL-Zuid , is a 125 km-long high-speed railway line in the Netherlands to the Belgian border, with a branch to Breda. Together with the Belgian HSL 4 it forms the Schiphol–Antwerp high-speed railway...

  is a 125km high-speed railway line

High-speed rail

High-speed rail is a type of passenger rail transport that operates significantly faster than the normal speed of rail traffic. Specific definitions by the European Union include for upgraded track and or faster for new track, whilst in the United States, the U.S...

 in the Netherlands

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

. Using existing tracks from Amsterdam Centraal

Amsterdam Centraal

' is the central station of Amsterdam. It is one of the main railway hubs of the Netherlands and is used by 250,000 passengers a day, excluding transferring passengers. It is also the starting point of Amsterdam Metro lines 51, 53, and 54. The station building of Amsterdam Centraal was designed by...

 to Schiphol Airport, the dedicated high-speed line begins here and continues to Rotterdam Centraal and to the Belgian border. Here, it connects to the HSL 4

HSL 4

The HSL 4 is a Belgian high-speed rail line which connects Brussels to the Dutch border. 87 km long , it was scheduled for completion by 2007.Together with the HSL 1 to the French border and HSL-Zuid to Amsterdam, the line has shortened journeys between Brussels,...

, terminating at Antwerpen-Centraal. Den Haag Centraal

Den Haag Centraal

Den Haag Centraal is the largest train station in the Dutch city of The Hague. It is the largest terminal station in the Netherlands with 12 tracks. The station was completed in 1973, next to the older station Den Haag Staatsspoor...

 (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...

) and Breda

Breda railway station

Breda is a railway station in Breda, the Netherlands. It is situated on the Breda–Rotterdam railway, the Roosendaal–Breda railway and the Breda–Eindhoven railway.-History:...

 are connected to the high-speed line by conventional railway lines. 160 km/h services (speed capped due to exceeding agreed noise pollution limits) on the HSL-Zuid have begun on 7 September 2009 between Amsterdam and Rotterdam. From December 2009, Thalys

Thalys

Thalys is an international high-speed train operator originally built around the high-speed line between Paris and Brussels. This track is shared with Eurostar trains that go from Paris or Brussels to London via Lille and the Channel Tunnel and with French domestic TGV trains. Thalys reaches...

 trains from Amsterdam to Brussels

Brussels

Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...

 and Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

 use the HSL-Zuid and by late 2011 Fyra

Fyra

Fyra is a high-speed train service operating on the Dutch HSL-Zuid and planned for the Belgian HSL 4, between Amsterdam, Schiphol Airport, Rotterdam, Breda, Antwerp, and Brussels. Fyra shares the high-speed tracks with operator Thalys. The service is offered by NS Hispeed and the NMBS/SNCB...

 trains will serve all HSL-Zuid stations between Amsterdam Centraal and Brussel-Zuid/Bruxelles-Midi.

Stations

The HSL-Zuid serves the following stations:

• Amsterdam Centraal
• Schiphol
• Rotterdam Centraal
  Rotterdam Centraal railway station
  Rotterdam Centraal is the main railway station of the city Rotterdam in the Netherlands.-History:The station opened June 3, 1847 as the Delftsche Poort railway station. The station building designed by Sybold van Ravesteyn opened in 1957 and closed on September 2, 2007...
  
  

Between Rotterdam and the Belgian border there is a branch to Breda

Breda railway station

Breda is a railway station in Breda, the Netherlands. It is situated on the Breda–Rotterdam railway, the Roosendaal–Breda railway and the Breda–Eindhoven railway.-History:...

 (from 04-04-2011).

HSL-Oost

HSL-Oost

HSL-Oost

HSL-Oost is the name of a proposed high-speed train line from Amsterdam into Germany via the Dutch cities of Utrecht and Arnhem...

 (Dutch

Dutch language

Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...

: Hogesnelheidslijn-Oost, English

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

: High-Speed Line East) is the name of a proposed high-speed 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...

 into Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 via the Dutch cities of 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...

 and Arnhem

Arnhem

Arnhem is a city and municipality, situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of Gelderland and located near the river Nederrijn as well as near the St. Jansbeek, which was the source of the city's development. Arnhem has 146,095 residents as one of the...

. The scope of the project has now been reduced, but it is expected that German ICE

InterCityExpress

The Intercity-Express or ICE is a system of high-speed trains predominantly running in Germany and neighbouring countries. It is the highest service category offered by DB Fernverkehr and is the flagship of Deutsche Bahn...

 trains will be able to travel at 200 km/h from Amsterdam to Utrecht in the near future. Currently, ERTMS has been installed on the line, but the soil is soft and needs time to stabilize after the recent expansion works. In 2009, a new feasibility study

Feasibility study

Feasibility studies aim to objectively and rationally uncover the strengths and weaknesses of the existing business or proposed venture, opportunities and threats as presented by the environment, the resources required to carry through, and ultimately the prospects for success. In its simplest...

 for the HSL-Oost after the year 2020 is promised by Minister of Transport, Public Works and Water Management Camiel Eurlings

Camiel Eurlings

Camiel Eurlings is a former Dutch politician and a member of the Christian Democratic Appeal . He was the minister at the Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management from 22 February 2007 to 14 October 2010...

.