The Weesp–Lelystad railway, also known as Flevolijn, is a

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

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 ...

operated by

Nederlandse Spoorwegen Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS; ; en, "Dutch Railways") is the principal passenger railway operator in the Netherlands. It is a Dutch state-owned company founded in 1938. The Dutch rail network is one of the busiest in the European Union, and t ...

and owned by

ProRail ProRail () is a Dutch government organisation responsible for the maintenance and extension of the national railway network infrastructure (not the metro or tram), the allocation of rail capacity, and controlling rail traffic. Prorail is a part o ...

. The line runs from

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 ...

, North Holland to Lelystad, capital of the neighbouring

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

of Flevoland. It currently has seven stations, these are (southwest to northeast):

Almere Poort Almere Gate (; nl, Almere Poort) is a borough (''stadsdeel'') of Almere, Netherlands. It is the newest part of what is a new city itself, with the first building completed only in 2005. Although Almere is a planned city, Almere Poort was not in t ...

, Almere Muziekwijk, Almere Centrum, Almere Parkwijk,

Almere Buiten Almere Buiten is a district in the municipality of Almere in the 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, ...

, Almere Oostvaarders and Lelystad Centrum. Almere Strand was closed in 2012 and

Lelystad Zuid Lelystad Zuid is a railway station in the south of Lelystad, Flevoland, Netherlands. While constructed, the station is not planned to open before 2025. The station is located in a currently unbuilt area of Lelystad. In 1988, this area was planned ...

is due to open before 2025.

Timeline

*1987: the line opens between Weesp and Almere Buiten. The station Almere Parkwijk had not been built at the time. *1988: the line was finished when it was extended to Lelystad Centrum. *1996: Almere Parkwijk station opens. *2003: the Gooiboog curve opens, allowing direct trains to Hilversum and Utrecht. *2004: Almere Oostvaarders station opens. *2012: Almere Poort station opens, as well as the Hanzelijn (Lelystad to Zwolle). *2025: Planned opening of Lelystad Zuid station.

History

Work began on the railway line in 1980. Originally, it was planned to run straight through the Oostvaardersplassen. After protests from environmentalists, the transport minister decided that the line was to pass outside this nature area. As a consequence, this detour is, because of its form, now colloquially called the ''bath tub line''. In 2008, it was announced that the line's capacity will be extended to 12 trains per hour in either direction. To achieve this, it will be doubled to four tracks.

Hanzelijn

Work on the Hanzelijn from Lelystad Centrum to Zwolle began in 2007 and the line opened in 2012. Two new stations were opened, ''Dronten'' and ''Kampen Zuid''. The

station is expected to open in 2025.

Train services

The current train services operating on the Flevolijn are:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Weesp-Lelystad railway Railway lines in North Holland Railway lines in Flevoland Railway lines opened in 1987