The Weesp–Leiden railway (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...

: Schiphollijn) is a railway line 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...

 which runs between the cities of Weesp

Weesp

Weesp is a town and a municipality in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. It has a population of 17,533 .Weesp lies next to the rivers de Vecht and Smal Weesp and also next to the Amsterdam-Rhine Canal. It is in an area called the "Vechtstreek"...

 and Leiden; the line also passes through and serves Amsterdam Airport Schiphol.

History

The first section of the Schiphollijn was opened on 20 December 1978 between Schiphol and Amsterdam Zuid. At the time, this section of railway was not connected to the rest of the Dutch railway network. This section of the Schiphollin features a 6 kilometres (3.7 mi)-long tunnel, in which Schiphol railway station is located. When it was constructed, Schiphol was the only railway station in the Netherlands to be in-tunnel.

The line was extended in both directions in 1981 to Amsterdam RAI

Amsterdam RAI railway station

The railway station Amsterdam RAI is situated in southern Amsterdam, The Netherlands. It lies between the two directions of the A10 Amsterdam ring road. It is also a metro station at which GVB operates two routes...

 and Leiden Centraal

Leiden Centraal railway station

Leiden Centraal is the main railway station in Leiden, a city in the Netherlands.-History:Leiden Centraal station opened on 17 August 1842 as the southern terminal of the first expansion of the Old Line from Haarlem. The original building was replaced by a new one, designed by D.A.N. Margadant, in...

; new stations were opened at Hoofddorp

Hoofddorp railway station

Hoofddorp is a railway station in Hoofddorp, Noord Holland, the Netherlands.The station is on the Amsterdam - Schiphol - Leiden Centraal - Den Haag - Rotterdam main line.-History:...

 and Nieuw-Vennep

Nieuw-Vennep railway station

Nieuw-Vennep is a railway station in Nieuw Vennep, Netherlands. The station is on the Amsterdam - Schiphol - Leiden Centraal - Den Haag - Rotterdam main line...

.

In 1986, a connection to Amsterdam Centraal was completed: the Amsterdam–Schiphol railway

Amsterdam–Schiphol railway

The Amsterdam-Schiphol railway is an important Dutch 17 kilometre long railway line, that connects Amsterdam with Amsterdam Airport Schiphol and further to Leiden, The Hague and Rotterdam.-History:...

. Stations were opened at Amsterdam Lelylaan

Amsterdam Lelylaan railway station

Amsterdam Lelylaan is a railway station in west Amsterdam. It is served by trains of the Nederlandse Spoorwegen and metros of the GVB. The station opened on 1 June 1986. It is located on the Amsterdam-Schiphol railway, a few km south of Amsterdam Sloterdijk railway station...

, Amsterdam De Vlugtlaan and Amsterdam Sloterdijk were opened. Amsterdam De Vlugtlaan was closed in 2000, after the opening of the Hemboog: a chord at Amsterdam Sloterdijk which connects Schiphol and the city of Zaandam

Zaandam

Zaandam is a town in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. It is the main city of the municipality of Zaanstad, and received city rights in 1811...

.

The Schiphollijn was completed in 1993 when the railway was extended to the town of Weesp

Weesp

Weesp is a town and a municipality in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. It has a population of 17,533 .Weesp lies next to the rivers de Vecht and Smal Weesp and also next to the Amsterdam-Rhine Canal. It is in an area called the "Vechtstreek"...

. This enabled direct connections to Schiphol Airport from the eastern and northern provinces of the Netherlands

Provinces of the Netherlands

A Dutch province represents the administrative layer in between the national government and the local municipalities, having the responsibility for matters of subnational or regional importance. The government of each province consists of three major parts: the Provinciale Staten which is the...

 to Schiphol. Duivendrecht railway station

Duivendrecht railway station

The Duivendrecht railway station is a combined rail and metro station in Duivendrecht, Netherlands. The station opened in May 1993 as part of the extension of the Zuidtak of the Amsterdam Ringspoorbaan, between Amsterdam RAI and Weesp....

 opened to provide a connection between the new line and the Amsterdam–Arnhem railway

Amsterdam–Arnhem railway

The Amsterdam–Arnhem railway or Rhijnspoorweg is an important Dutch railway line, that connects Amsterdam with Utrecht and Arnhem, The Netherlands and also into Germany.-History:...

.