HSL-Zuid (Hogesnelheidslijn Zuid)HSL-Zuid (Hogesnelheidslijn Zuid)The HSL-Zuid, or in Dutch: Hogesnelheidslijn Zuid, or in English: South high-speed line, is a 125 kilometre-long (78 mile) Dutch high-speed rail line running between the Amsterdam Metropolitan area and the Belgian border, with a branch to Breda, North Brabant. Together with the Belgian HSL 4 it forms the Schiphol–Antwerp high-speed railway. Originally scheduled to be in service by 2007, the first public operations began on 7 September 2009, after a ceremony on 6 September. Intercity Direct operates between Amsterdam and Breda, for the time being with conventional Intercity carriages and TRAXX locomotives. On 13 December 2009 Thalys began services from Amsterdam to Paris and Brussels on the HSL-Zuid. On 4 April 2018 the first scheduled Eurostar connected Amsterdam to London via the HSL-Zuid. Talks about a high-speed line between Amsterdam and the Belgian border started under Prime Minister Joop den Uyl (1973–1977), work began during Wim Kok's first term (1998–2002). The Rijkswaterstaat, a government agency under the authority of the Ministry of Transport and Water Management, was responsible for the organisation of the project. The Government of the Netherlands awarded the country's largest ever public-private partnership (PPP) contract to the consortium Infraspeed until 2030, it is responsible for design, construction, financing and maintenance. The line features state-of-the-art technology, including ETCS L2 train control systems provided by Siemens AG and Alcatel (activities now part of Thales), and will be an ERTMS 2.3.0 Corridor. HSL-Zuid Route Between Amsterdam and Schiphol (Westtak Ringspoorbaan), and around Rotterdam, high speed trains operate on the existing line. South of Schiphol the dedicated high speed tracks begin, parallelling the existing railway line until Nieuw-Vennep. The line then branches off eastwards, continuing along the west side of Roelofarendsveen and Hoogmade and entering a tunnel east of Leiderdorp. This tunnel was built to protect the character of the Groene Hart region. North of Zoetermeer the train line leaves the tunnel west of Hazerswoude, it subsequently passes to the east of Benthuizen, and on an elevated track east of Zoetermeer, then back on the surface between Berkel en Rodenrijs and Bergschenhoek, and after a tunnel, joins the existing line again north of Rotterdam. Trains run briefly on existing tracks for a few kilometres before entering the high speed line again. At Barendrecht the two tracks cross each other and the trains begin left-hand running as in Belgium, France and the United Kingdom. From here the line runs next to the existing railway as well as the Betuweroute, continuing through the Hoekse Waard area, bypassing Dordrecht. South of Dordrecht, the line runs next to the A16 motorway with a branch spurring off to the city of Breda. South of Breda, the line again follows the motorway towards Antwerp in northern Belgium. At the Belgian border, it connects to HSL 4, which carries on to Antwerp, with an existing line from Antwerp to Brussels. HSL-Zuid Services Since the opening of the HSL-Zuid, the number of trains has been expanded over time. HSL-Zuid Domestic Trains On 7 September 2009, operator NS International started a domestic train service between Amsterdam and Rotterdam, weekdays only, 1 train hourly with TRAXX-locomotives and ICR-carriages running at 160 km/h maximum. Over time, this service has been expanded. On 12 April 2010, service was expanded to Saturday and Sunday. On 4 October 2010, the frequency was doubled to 2 trains hourly. On 3 April 2011, this service was extended to Breda. This service is called Intercity Direct, until 2013 Fyra. Although a more intensive service was planned initially, this is not possible due to the V250 rolling stock problem. Class Type Top speed Number Routes operated Built Remarks mph km/h
HSL-Zuid 2008–2009 HSL-Zuid 2014–2015
HSL-Zuid Benelux Train The "Benelux train", in the Netherlands also known as Intercity Brussel, which existed before the Fyra, has been put into service again since the latter's demise, albeit under a renewed livery. It is a conventional InterCity train running between Amsterdam and Brussels-South using the Schiphol-Antwerp high-speed railway with reverse in Breda. These trains run every hour in both directions between Rotterdam and Brussels, serving Schiphol and Amsterdam CS north of Rotterdam. Benelux train services to The Hague have been cancelled starting January 2022. These trains are redirected to Amsterdam over the HSL-Zuid, increasing the Amsterdam – Breda – Brussels service to sixteen trains per day in each direction instead of twelve but obliging travellers between Brussels and The Hague to change trains in Rotterdam or in Breda, albeit with a couple of minutes' reduction in total travel time. The current rolling stock is scheduled to be replaced by the NS ICNG-B stock starting 2025. Class Type Top speed Number Routes operated Built Remarks mph km/h
NS ICNG-B EMU 124 200 20 2018- HSL-Zuid Stations Served:
Eurostar runs 16 times a day on the HSL-Zuid with speeds up to 300 km/h. Since late 2020 the Eurostar service to London is operated without change in Brussels due to a treaty with the British government, before the treaty passengers to the UK needed to disembark in Brussels and undergo customs screenings.:
mph km/h
Fyra International was an international high speed train service operated with V250 rolling stock between Amsterdam Centraal – Schiphol Airport – Rotterdam Centraal – Antwerp – Brussels, 10 times daily. Due to intensive problems with V250, this service only ran for forty days, between 8 December 2012 and 17 January 2013. The trains were eventually returned to Ansaldobreda. Class Type Top speed Number Routes operated Built Remarks mph km/h
2008–2012 No longer in service HSL-Zuid Travel TimesThe new line shortened travel times for international and domestic services departing from Amsterdam.
From Roosendaal to Brussels (82 km or 50 mi): 1 hour and 16 minutes not including the change of trains in Breda (previously 1 hour and 8 minutes) Thalys reported that its trains would start using the line from December 2009, with Paris to Amsterdam journeys being 3 hours and 45 minutes and Brussels to Amsterdam journeys being 2 hours and 23 minutes, on account of a plan to gradually increase the line speed, with the same trains in June taking 3 hours and 18 minutes and 1 hour and 58 minutes. Nowadays trains travel from Paris and Brussels to Amsterdam in respectively 3 hours and 13 minutes and 1 hour and 44 minutes. HSL-Zuid Overview HSL-Zuid Owner: ProRail HSL-Zuid Locale: North Holland, South Holland and North Brabant, Netherlands HSL-Zuid Operator(s): Nederlandse Spoorwegen NS International Thalys Eurostar HSL-Zuid Opened: 7 September 2009 HSL-Zuid Line Length: 125 km (78 mi) HSL-Zuid Track Gauge: 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge HSL-Zuid Electrification: 25 kV 50 Hz AC overhead HSL-Zuid Operating Speed: 300 km/h (186 mph) HSL-Zuid Signalling: ETCS Level 2, ETCS Level 1 (fallback) | |||||
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