Railways in the

Netherlands

Class VIRM double-deck electric multiple unit of NS passing a typical Dutch windmill

The first public railway in the Netherlands was opened on 20th September, 1839, between Amsterdam (d’Eenhonderd Roe) and Haarlem, a distance of about 19km. It was built to the unusual broad gauge of 1945mm. The line was extended in stages to Rotterdam, which it reached in 1847. Another company opened a line using the same broad gauge from Amsterdam to Utrecht in 1843, extending to Arnhem in 1845. However, the latter line was converted to standard (1435mm) gauge in the 1850s to facilitate through running with the German railway network via Emmerich. The original Oude Lijn (Old Line) from Amsterdam to Rotterdam was converted to standard gauge in 1866.

In 1860 plans were put in place for a comprehensive national network, which would be built to standard gauge. The State railway company began operations in 1863. By the end of the First World War, it had taken responsibility for operation of most of the main line railways, until in 1938 they were merged to form a new State-owned company: Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS).

National Network

NS Dutch Railways, the national operator.
European Sleeper operator of international sleeping services to Belgium and Germany
Eurostar operator of international high speed passenger services to Belgium, France, and the United Kingdom
ProRail the Dutch track authority (Site in Dutch)

Regional Passenger Operators

Arriva Nederland regional operator in various parts of the country, including cross-border services to Aachen in Germany and Liège in Belgium
DB German operator providing cross-border service to Enschede
Eurobahn German operator providing cross-border services to Hengelo and Venlo (Site in German)
Keolis Nederland regional operator in the eastern Netherlands (Site in Dutch)
Qbuzz regional operator in various parts of the country
R-Net regional operator in Flevoland, Noord-Holland and Zuid-Holland (Site in Dutch)

Other Passenger Operators

Alpen Express seasonal overnight sleeper service between various stations in the Netherlands and various stations in Austria

Freight Railway and Main Line Freight Operators

Captrain independent freight operator
Crossrail independent freight operator
DB Cargo independent freight operator
ERS Railways independent freight operator
LTE independent freight operator
Rotterdam Rail Feeding freight switching and port services in the Rotterdam area
SBB Cargo Nederland independent freight operator

Infrastructure Companies

Strukton Rail
VolkerRail (Site in Dutch)

Industrial Railway

Tata Steel has an extensive internal rail network at its Ĳmuiden works (Website contains no details relating to railway)

Tourist and Museum Railways

Efteling Stoomtrein 600km steam hauled railway about 4km in length circling the Efteling theme park near Kaatsheuvel. Two of the operational steam locomotives are historic industrial examples, the third a modern locomotive of similar design.
Gelderse Smalspoor Stichting museum of narrow gauge industrial railway equipment near Heteren, offering train rides on certain days (Site in Dutch)
Hoogovens Stoom Ĳmuiden steam hauled tourist service operating typically one Sunday each month on the internal rail network of Tata Steel, Ĳmuiden. Tours cover up to 15km of line. Not operating during 2022, services may resume in 2023 (Site in Dutch)
Leemspoor (Clay Railway) narrow gauge tourist line near Rĳssen. The line and locomotives formerly served a local brickworks (Site in Dutch)
MBS steam and diesel tourist line between Haaksbergen and Boekelo near Enschede in the eastern Netherlands
Miljoenenlijn standard gauge tourist line in Limburg, operating regular steam or diesel trains from Simpelveld to Kerkrade or Schin op Geul, and occasional trips to Valkenburg or Aachen-Vetschau (Germany)
RTM Museum Ouddorp steam and diesel hauled narrow gauge railway tourist line between Ouddorp and Mittelplatt (about 5km) on the island of Goeree-Overflakkee, south of Rotterdam. Certain trains connect with a tourist boat service from Mittelplatt harbour
SGB tourist line between Goes and Hoedekenskerke in Beveland (about 7km), steam hauled or diesel railcars. A further 4km to Oudelande is proposed for reopening in the future.
STAR at 26km, the longest steam hauled tourist operation in the Netherlands, between Veendam and Musselkanaal in the peat bog districts of the northern part of the country (Site in Dutch)
Steenfabriek De Werklust brickworks museum near Losser with a narrow gauge railway using former industrial equipment, offering short rides to visitors (Site in Dutch)
Stoom Stichting Nederland steam hauled excursions on the national network (Site in Dutch)
Stoomtram Hoorn - Medemblik steam hauled, standard gauge light railway between Hoorn and Medemblik (about 15km). Forms part of the "Historic Triangle", completed by a journey on a preserved steam ferry boat from Medemblik to Enkhuizen, then by NS train back to Hoorn.
Stoomtrein Katwijk Leiden 700mm gauge steam hauled line running along the shore of the Valkenburgse Meer on the outskirts of Valkenburg in South Holland
Veenpark 700mm gauge railway in the Museum Park near Emmen. 700mm gauge, diesel hauled by former industrial locomotives (Site in Dutch and German)
VSM tourist line operating steam trains between Apeldoorn and Dieren in the eastern Netherlands
Industrial Narrow Gauge Museum at Erica in the eastern Netherlands, offering extended rides using 700mm and 900mm gauge material (Site in Dutch and German)
Hoftrammm restaurant tram offering a 4-course dinner while travelling over routes in Den Haag
Museum Tramline from Haarlemmermeerstation in southern Amsterdam to Amstelveen and Bovenkerk (Site in Dutch)
HOVM museum offering historic tram excursions in Den Haag. In addition to regular services, trams may be hired for private charter (Site in Dutch)
Stichting RoMeO historic tram route in Rotterdam. In addition to regular services, trams may be hired for private charter (Site in Dutch)
Openluchtmuseum the Open Air Museum on the northern outskirts of Arnhem has a 2.3km tram line operated by historic trams serving various parts of the grounds
Grenzland Draisine fietslorries (pedal driven rail trolleys) between Groesbeek and Kranenburg (Germany), 5.5km, possibly the only international pedal trolley line in operation (Site in Dutch and German)

Miniature Railways

DierenPark Amersfoort has a 340mm gauge miniature railway. Diesel hauled with steam outline locomotives (Site in Dutch, contains few details relating to railway)
Stoomgroep West Zuiderpark in the Zuiderpark, Den Haag. 89 / 127 / 184mm (3½ / 5 / 7¼ inch) gauge. Steam, diesel or battery electric hauled (Site in Dutch)

Metros and Trams

Amsterdam Metro and trams
Rotterdam Metro and trams, including part of the Randstadrail tram-train link (Site mainly in Dutch, with introduction and travel information in English)
Den Haag trams and part of the Randstadrail tram-train link
Utrecht trams (Site in Dutch)

Friesland

A separate page gives a listing of station names in Dutch and Frisian for this province of the Netherlands.