Nijkerk–Ede-Wageningen Railway (Valleilijn)

Nijkerk–Ede-Wageningen Railway (Valleilijn)

The Nijkerk–Ede-Wageningen Railway is a railway line in the Netherlands currently running from Barneveld to Ede-Wageningen. The part between Nijkerk and Barneveld has been demolished. It was previously nicknamed the Kippenlijn ("chicken line") in Dutch, but since 2006, it's nicknamed Valleilijn ("valley line") by its operator (Connexxion).

Valleilijn The Line

The Valleilijn is a single track line with passing loops at Barneveld Centrum and Lunteren. It runs through the valley where there are many chicken farms and was therefore originally called the Kippenlijn until a project was launched on 10 December 2006.

The line has interchanges with other railway services at Amersfoort and Ede-Wageningen.

Nijkerk–Ede-Wageningen Railway History

The line opened on 1 May 1902 as the Kippenlijn from Nijkerk to Ede. The line between Nijkerk and Barneveld Noord closed in 1937 and the whole line was shut on 7 September 1944 because of World War II.

The line re-opened on 20 May 1951 and was electrified for that date as well. The line operates as the Oosterspoorweg between Amersfoort and the Barneveld Noord junction. From there the line is 17 km long and takes 20 minutes to operate from Barneveld Noord to Ede-Wageningen.

Valleilijn Stations

The following stations are on or serviced by the Valleilijn (Hoevelaken is technically situated on the Oosterspoorweg), including some possible interchanges:

           Valleilijn Station Interchanges                Notes

• Amersfoort Centraal Zwolle, Apeldoorn, Deventer, Utrecht, Hilversum, Amsterdam, Gouda, The Hague and Rotterdam Previously known as Amersfoort (1902–2019).
• Hoevelaken Previously, Hoevelaken had a station on the Utrecht – Zwolle railway line from 1905 to 1938.
• Barneveld Noord P&R Site, signposted off the A1 (Transferium). Previously known as Barneveld-Voorthuizen (1937–1981).
• Barneveld Centrum Previously known as Barneveld Dorp (1902–1981).
• Barneveld Zuid Newest station on the line, opened on 2 February 2015.
• Lunteren
• Ede Centrum Previously known as Ede Dorp (1902–1951).
• Ede-Wageningen Utrecht and Arnhem Previously known as Ede (1845–1938).

Valleilijn Previous Stations

Driedorp, Appel, Dusschoten, Voorthuizen, Barneveld Kruispunt, Meulunteren, Doesburgerbuurt, Stompekamp and Ede Gemeentehuis.

Valleilijn 2006 Service Improvements

Before 10 December 2006, the line was operated by Nederlandse Spoorwegen but on that date, Connexxion took over the service and made a lot of improvements.

Valleilijn Trains

• 5 new Protos train sets were placed into service, to improve comfort on the line.
• 2 Stadler FLIRT 3 train sets were also put into service in 2018.

Valleilijn Buses

• From 10 December 2006 Syntus, also relaunched the bus service 88 (Ede – Wageningen). A fleet of brand new buses were placed into service in the same Valleilijn livery. This service operates up to every 10 minutes.

Passengers can connect with the train from/to Amersfoort.

• From 10 December 2020 introduced a new name rrreis instead of the " Valleilijn" brand.
• From 12 December 2022 Transdev took over the rrreis bus services due to the company being accused of fraudulent activities. Due to low state funding most of these buses are old bravo, r-net & Connexxion buses.

Line Route Material Frequency

• 303 Wageningen Via Campus C2 Capacity 4x per hour (Peak 6)

Valleilijn Train Services

Series     Train Type     Route     Material     Frequency

• 31300 RS 34 Connexxion Stoptrein Amersfoort – Barneveld Noord – Barneveld Centrum – Barneveld Zuid – Lunteren – Ede Centrum – Ede-Wageningen Protos, Flirt-3 2x per hour
• 31400 RS 34 Connexxion Stoptrein Amersfoort – Barneveld Noord – Barneveld Centrum – Barneveld Zuid Protos, Flirt-3 2x per hour (Mo-Fri until 8 pm, Sa until 5 pm, does not run on Sundays and on holidays)

Nijkerk–Ede-Wageningen Railway Overview

Valleilijn Status: Operational
Valleilijn Locale: The Netherlands
Valleilijn Termini:
Nijkerk railway station
Ede-Wageningen railway station
Valleilijn Operator(s): 1902-2006 Nederlandse Spoorwegen since 2006: Connexxion
Valleilijn Opened: 1902-1903
Valleilijn Line Length: 30 km (19 mi)
Valleilijn Number of Tracks: single track
Valleilijn Track Gauge: 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Valleilijn Electrification: 1.5 kV DC