The Weesp–Leiden railway (

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

: ''Schiphollijn'') is a

railway line Rail terminology is a form of technical terminology. The difference between the American term ''railroad'' and the international term ''railway'' (used by the International Union of Railways and English-speaking countries outside the United Sta ...

in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

which runs between the cities of

Weesp Weesp () is a city, an urban area in the municipality of Amsterdam and a former municipality in the province of North Holland, Netherlands. It had a population of in . It lies on the river Vecht and next to the Amsterdam–Rhine Canal in an are ...

and

Leiden Leiden (; in English and archaic Dutch also Leyden) is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. The municipality of Leiden has a population of 119,713, but the city forms one densely connected agglomeration wi ...

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

History

Opening

The first section of the ''Schiphollijn'' was opened on 20 December 1978 between

Schiphol Amsterdam Airport Schiphol , known informally as Schiphol Airport ( nl, Luchthaven Schiphol, ), is the main international airport of the Netherlands. It is located southwest of Amsterdam, in the municipality of Haarlemmermeer in the province ...

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 ''Schiphollijn'' features a -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.

Extension

The line was extended in both directions in 1981 to Amsterdam RAI and Leiden Centraal; new stations were opened at

Hoofddorp Hoofddorp (; ) is the main town of the Haarlemmermeer municipality in the province of North Holland in the Netherlands. In 2021, the population was 77,885. The town was founded in 1853, immediately after the Haarlemmermeer had been drained. His ...

and

Nieuw-Vennep Nieuw-Vennep is a town in the Dutch province of North Holland. It's located near the capital city Amsterdam as well as Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. It has a population of 31,415 (2021), and is a part of the municipality of Haarlemmermeer, which ran ...

. In 1986, a connection to

Amsterdam Centraal Amsterdam Centraal Station ( nl, italic=no, Station Amsterdam Centraal ; abbreviation: Asd) is the largest railway station in Amsterdam, North Holland, the Netherlands. A major international railway hub, it is used by 192,000 passengers a day, ...

was completed: the

Amsterdam–Schiphol railway The Amsterdam–Schiphol railway (also known as the ''Westtak Ringspoorbaan'') is an important 17 kilometre long railway line in the Netherlands that connects Amsterdam with Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, and allows trains to continue to Leiden, Th ...

. Stations were opened at

Amsterdam Lelylaan Amsterdam Lelylaan is a railway, metro, tram and bus 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 ...

, Amsterdam De Vlugtlaan and Amsterdam Sloterdijk. Amsterdam De Vlugtlaan was closed in 2000, after the opening of the

Hemboog Amsterdam Sloterdijk is a major railway junction to the west of Amsterdam Centraal station. It is at a rail-rail crossing, with an additional chord (Hemboog). It is on the railway line from Amsterdam Centraal to Haarlem and the last station before ...

: a chord at Amsterdam Sloterdijk which connects Schiphol Airport and the city of

Zaandam Zaandam () is a city in the province of North Holland, Netherlands. It is the main city of the municipality of Zaanstad, and received city rights in 1811. It is located on the river Zaan, just north of Amsterdam. The statistical district Zaand ...

. The line was completed in 1993 when the railway was extended to the town of

. This enabled direct connections to

Schiphol Airport Amsterdam Airport Schiphol , known informally as Schiphol Airport ( nl, Luchthaven Schiphol, ), is the main international airport of the Netherlands. It is located southwest of Amsterdam, in the municipality of Haarlemmermeer in the province ...

from the eastern and northern

provinces of the Netherlands There are twelve provinces of the Netherlands (), representing the administrative layer between the national government and the local municipalities, with responsibility for matters of subnational or regional importance. The most populous prov ...

to Schiphol.

Duivendrecht station Duivendrecht station ( Dvd) is a combined rail and metro station in Duivendrecht, Netherlands. The station opened on 23 May 1993 as part of the extension of the Zuidtak of the Amsterdam Ringspoorbaan, between Amsterdam RAI and Weesp. This station ...

opened to provide a connection between the new line and the

Amsterdam–Arnhem railway The Amsterdam–Arnhem railway, also referred to as the Amsterdam–Elten railway or ''Rhijnspoorweg'' in Dutch (English: Rhine railway), is an important railway that connects Amsterdam in the Netherlands with Utrecht and Arnhem, and continues in ...

. The most important stations on the line currently are: Leiden Centraal, Hoofddorp, Schiphol airport, Amsterdam Zuid, Duivendrecht and Weesp. {{DEFAULTSORT:Weesp-Leiden railway Rail transport in Amsterdam Railway lines in North Holland Railway lines in South Holland Railway lines opened in 1978 1978 establishments in the Netherlands