Woerden–Leiden Railway

Woerden–Leiden Railway

The Woerden-Leiden railway line was constructed by the Leiden-Woerden Railway Company. The railway line connecting Woerden with Leiden was opened on 15 October 1878. The Nederlandsche Rhijnspoorweg-Maatschappij (NRS) was responsible for its operation. The railway line was electrified in 1950 and is largely single-track. The trains pass each other at Bodegraven station and at a passing track near Zoeterwoude. During rush hour, trains also pass each other at Alphen aan den Rijn station.

Woerden–Leiden Railway History

On April 27, 1860, the House of Representatives of the States General granted the concession for the railway from Leiden to Woerden to the Hollandsche railway company.

Following the railway line from Utrecht to Rotterdam and the branch line from Gouda to The Hague of the NRS, the Spoorweg-Maatschappij Leiden-Woerden constructed the branch line to Leiden under the direction of ir. Jan Philip de Bordes. The Nederlandsche Rhijnspoorweg-Maatschappij took over the operation between Leiden and Utrecht, the train continued from Woerden to Utrecht, and could thus reach the western Randstad by rail from Utrecht. Transport on the railway line was disappointing. There were virtually no through trains on the route. In 1890, the Maatschappij tot Exploitatie van Staatsspoorwegen, the Staatsspoorwegen, took over the train services of the NRS. The line remained in use for regional transport.

In 1950, the route was electrified, so that the train service could be accelerated. In 1968, the Dutch Railways introduced a new house style as part of Spoorslag '70. The first yellow Plan-V trains started running between Utrecht and Leiden and the timetable and stations were also modernised. The Utrecht - Leiden route served as a test route. In order to increase the frequency of the train service, the tracks on part of the route near Hazerswoude and Zoeterwoude were doubled in 1985.

In June 2006, a train derailed near Zwammerdam due to a track splatter. For several weeks, the trains ran at a maximum speed of 80 km/h on the Alphen - Woerden route.

In the direction of Leiden, a reversing track was constructed just outside Woerden. This is used for the sprinter trains series 8900 during the parts of the day when they do not run west of Woerden. As a timetable point, this reversing track is called Woerden Molenvliet.

Woerden–Leiden Railway Stations and Buildings

At the same time as the construction of the railway line, the Leiden-Woerden Railway Company built four station buildings along the route. Alphen-Oudshoorn station was given a unique design with a high central section and low side wings. Small rustic country buildings appeared in Bodegraven, Zwammerdam and Hazerswoude-Koudekerk. In Woerden, the NRS station was used and in Leiden, the HIJSM station was used.

In 1894, Bodegraven got a larger station building. This building was largely destroyed by fire in 1911. The old station building was partly rebuilt, but got a number of new elements such as a tower with a high spire. In 1913, the building was completed. Five years later, the Alphen-Oudshoorn station was renamed Alphen aan den Rijn. In 1932, the station was expanded in view of the opening of the Gouda - Alphen aan den Rijn railway line in 1934. In the following years, all stops and stations along the railway line, except Bodegraven and Alphen, were closed. The station buildings of Zwammerdam and Hazerswoude were demolished in 1950. In 1961, the suburban stop Leiden Lammenschans was opened. Here, a simple station building with a platform appeared along the single-track railway line.

As a result of the approach to the station area in Alphen aan den Rijn, the station building was demolished in 2007. This meant the disappearance of the last original station building of the Leiden-Woerden Railway Company. Work was carried out at the station on a bicycle and pedestrian tunnel and station squares on both sides of the station. The passage for cyclists was opened in 2010, as were the apple-shaped bicycle shed ("fietsappel") and the new platforms. A new station building, including a kiosk and a customer service centre for bus operator Arriva, was completed in 2012.

Woerden–Leiden Railway Timetable

In the context of the aforementioned plans around Spoorslag '70, the train service on the trial route Utrecht - Leiden was already adjusted in 1968. The train service could be accelerated by using the new (yellow) Plan-V trainsets. From then on, there was a stopping train once an hour and an express train once an hour that only stopped in Woerden and Alphen aan den Rijn. The total travel time between Utrecht and Leiden was reduced to 38 minutes. During rush hour, a single extra train ran between Utrecht and Alphen aan den Rijn. When the new timetable of Spoorslag '70 was introduced, the train service was reduced to a stopping train service that ran once every half hour, which negated the previously achieved gain in travel time.

After the doubling of the track between Hazerswoude Rijndijk and Zoeterwoude Rijndijk in 1985, additional peak-hour trains started running between Alphen aan den Rijn and Leiden. A single train ran to/from Gouda. Over time, more of these peak-hour trains were linked to the train service to Gouda. From December 2004, most peak-hour trains no longer ran to and from Gouda, but to and from Utrecht. In this case, the Utrecht peak-hour trains ran as local trains to Utrecht in the morning and as express trains to Leiden in the afternoon rush hour, with the trains only stopping in Alphen aan den Rijn and Leiden Lammenschans.

In the context of the entire 2007 timetable, the train service was reversed in December 2006. The local trains between Utrecht and Leiden are now called intercity. The reason for this is that the stations Utrecht Terwijde, Vleuten and Utrecht Leidsche Rijn are skipped. However, the intercity trains take almost ten minutes longer to travel between the two cities than the express trains from the 1960s. The peak hour trains run between Leiden and Gouda again, which creates a quarter-hourly service between Alphen aan den Rijn and Leiden in both directions during both the morning and (early) evening rush hours.

Woerden–Leiden Railway Punctuality

In the 2013 timetable, the punctuality of the train service on the railway line was 79.3%. This low punctuality is caused by the fact that the railway line is largely single-track, which means that delayed trains have an effect on other trains on the line. The average punctuality on the entire Dutch railway network was 93.6% in 2013.

Woerden–Leiden Railway Material Deployment

Until electrification in 1950, the trains on the route mainly had steam traction. From 1950, the old Blokkendoos material took over the train service. A few years later, the train service was taken over by various types of electric streamlined material. In 1968, the new NS house style was introduced on the railway. As a result, the railway was used for a short period to test various house styles for NS. The train service was accelerated and from then on, the new yellow Plan V trains ran on the route; the express trains of the 1960s even did Utrecht - Leiden in 38 minutes. The trains lasted almost 40 years on the railway, until the double-deckers of the VIRM type took over the service with the new timetable of 2007. Various peak hour trains on the railway were initially also pulled by the Materieel '54 and later by, among others, ICM and SGM trains.

In December 2006, the intercity service was introduced on the route. From then on, the train service was operated with intercity-worthy equipment. As a result, the double-decker interregion equipment took over the entire train service from that date. As a result, it only takes 41 minutes to get from Leiden to Utrecht, although this is slower than the former express trains from the 1960s. During rush hour, the regular train service is supplemented with rush hour trains that run from Gouda via Alphen aan den Rijn to Leiden. These trains are operated with SGM trainsets. There are then 4 travel options per hour between Alphen aan den Rijn and Leiden vv

After 2006, ICM was increasingly used on the line. At first, only a few ICM sets (also called Koploper) were in service, usually one four-part train set, extended with a three-part train set during rush hour. Since 9 June 2013, all weekday journeys in the intercity service have been operated by ICMm, as this equipment is preferred over VIRM. Due to the heavy shaking of the double-decker equipment on the line, travel comfort is reduced, partly due to the fact that the upper floor is more sensitive to shaking.

The use of ICMm led to a decrease in the capacity of the trains, resulting in overcrowded trains during rush hours. Despite the potentially unsafe situation, NS continued to use this equipment. NS promised to use renewed double-deckers. The use of this more spacious equipment was delayed by a setback in the revision of the six-carriage variants. Since August 2014, DDZ has been running on the line alternately with VIRM, which has largely solved the capacity problems on the line.

Since the beginning of 2021, the railway line has been used exclusively by SLT type sprinter equipment, also for intercity train services. Sprinters can meet the travel times more easily and are lighter than double-deckers, which reduces the strain on the track. The peak hour frequency between Utrecht and Leiden has been increased to a fifteen-minute service. There are no more through trains Gouda-Alphen-Leiden. As of 11 June 2023, these trains will run under the name sprinter.

Woerden–Leiden Railway Overview

Woerden–Leiden Railway Total Length: 32.5 km
Woerden–Leiden Railway Track Gauge: standard gauge 1435 mm
Woerden–Leiden Railway Created By: LW
Woerden–Leiden Railway Opened: October 15, 1878
Woerden–Leiden Railway Current Status: in use
Woerden–Leiden Railway Electrified: 1950
Woerden–Leiden Railway Number of Tracks: 1
Woerden–Leiden Railway Track Speed: 120
Woerden–Leiden Railway Security or Train Control: ATB EG
Woerden–Leiden Railway Train Service: NS

Woerden–Leiden Railway Route Map

           line from Utrecht Central
0.0      Woerden
           line to Rotterdam Central
           Woerden Molenvliet
           turnaround track
3.7      Valuer
           Double Wiericke
           Some Wiericke
           Tram line Bodegraven - Gouda dismantled
9.2      Bodegraven
12.4   Swan Dam
          line of Uithoorn broken up
          Gouwe Railway Bridge
          Gouwe
          line of Gouda
17.4   Alphen aan den Rijn
22.4   Hazerswoude-Koudekerk
           HSL-South, Schiphol Airport - Antwerp-Luchtbal
           Weipoortse Vliet
26.8   Zoeterwoude
          Rhine-Schie Canal
30      Leiden Lammenschans
          Tram line Leiden - Scheveningen dismantled
          Leiden Freight Station
31.5  Leiden White Gate
          tram line Leiden - The Hague SS broken up
          Old Rhine
          line from Rotterdam Central
          tram lines from Haarlemmerstraat, Hoge Rijndijk & Scheveningen
32.5 Leiden Central
         tram lines to Katwijk, Haarlem & The Hague.
         line to Amsterdam Central Station line to Weesp