The Amsterdam–Arnhem railway, also referred to as the Amsterdam–Elten railway or ''Rhijnspoorweg'' in

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

(English: Rhine railway), is an important

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

that connects

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

with

Utrecht Utrecht ( ; ; ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city of the Netherlands, as well as the capital and the most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. The ...

and

Arnhem Arnhem ( ; ; Central Dutch dialects, Ernems: ''Èrnem'') is a Cities of the Netherlands, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands, near the German border. It is the capita ...

, and continues into

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

History

The railway was opened in several stages by the

Nederlandsche Rhijnspoorweg-Maatschappij The Dutch Rhenish Railway or Dutch–Rhenish Railway ( or ) was a Dutch railway company active from 1845 until 1890. History The Dutch Rhenish Railway Company Limited was founded in Amsterdam on 3 July 1845 to take over the state-run Rhenish Ra ...

(NRS) between 18 December 1843 and 15 February 1856, with construction starting in 1843. The line was electrified in 1938 between Amsterdam and Arnhem and in 1966 between Arnhem and Elten. The line has been heavily reconstructed to increase its capacity between Amsterdam Bijmer Arena and Utrecht Centraal; this began in 1999 and finished in 2008.

Route

The line leaves Amsterdam in an easterly direction with the line to Amersfoort, which leaves at Amsterdam Muiderpoort, the line then continues in a southerly direction and shortly before arriving at Amsterdam Amstel, the

metro Metro may refer to: Geography * Metro City (Indonesia), a city in Indonesia * A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center Public transport * Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urban area with high ...

lines 51, 53 and 54 operate between the line.

Duivendrecht Duivendrecht () is a village in the Dutch province of North Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Ouder-Amstel, and lies about 6 km southeast of Amsterdam’s city centre. It is a suburb of Amsterdam. History The village was first m ...

is a bi-level station with the Schiphollijn operating below. Freight lines from the

Weesp Weesp () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and an urban area in the Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of Amsterdam in the Provinces of the netherlands, province of North Holland, Netherlands. It had a populati ...

direction join and the ''Utrecht Curve'' from

Schiphol Amsterdam Airport Schiphol , known informally as Schiphol Airport (, ), is the main international airport of the Netherlands, and is one of the major hubs for the SkyTeam airline alliance. It is located southwest of Amsterdam, in the municipal ...

joins the line. At Amsterdam Holendrecht the metro lines 50 and 54 leave towards the east. The line continues travelling through the countryside and a few towns towards Utrecht, often running parallel to the

Amsterdam–Rhine Canal The Amsterdam–Rhine Canal ( Dutch: ''Amsterdam-Rijnkanaal'') is a canal in the Netherlands that was built to connect the port and capital city of Amsterdam to the main shipping artery of the Rhine. Its course follows a generally southeasterly ...

. At Breukelen the line to Gouda leaves the line. On approaching Utrecht Centraal the lines from

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...

and

Amersfoort Amersfoort () is a Cities of the Netherlands, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht, Netherlands. As of 31 January 2023, the municipality had ...

join. From Utrecht Centraal the line continues in an easterly direction, with the line from

Hilversum Hilversum () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Holland, Netherlands. Located in the heart of the Gooi, it is ...

joining and crossing over, with the line to

's-Hertogenbosch s-Hertogenbosch (), colloquially known as Den Bosch (), is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands with a population of 160,783. It is the capital of ...

leaving southwards. east of Maarn the line to

Rhenen Rhenen () is a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality and a city in the central Netherlands. The municipality also includes the villages of Achterberg, and Elst (Utrecht), Elst. The town lies at a geographically interesting location, n ...

leaves. At Ede-Wageningen the line from

via Barneveld joins. Shortly before arriving at

the line from

Nijmegen Nijmegen ( , ; Nijmeegs: ) is the largest city in the Dutch province of Gelderland and the ninth largest of the Netherlands as a whole. Located on the Waal River close to the German border, Nijmegen is one of the oldest cities in the ...

joins and after Arnhem Velperpoort the line to

Zutphen Zutphen () is a city and municipality located in the province of Gelderland, Netherlands. It lies some northeast of Arnhem, on the eastern bank of the river IJssel at the point where it is joined by the Berkel. First mentioned in the 11th centur ...

heads north-east. At

Zevenaar Zevenaar () is a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality and a city in the Gelderland province, in the eastern Netherlands near the border with Germany. In January 2018 the neighbouring municipality of Rijnwaarden was merged with Zevenaar ...

, the line to

Winterswijk Winterswijk (; also known as ''Winterswiek'' or ''Wenters'') is a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality and a town in the eastern Netherlands. It has a population of and is situated in the Achterhoek, which lies in the easternmost part ...

leaves in a north-easterly direction, while the freight

Betuweroute The Betuweroute is a double track Freight rail transport, freight railway between Rotterdam and Germany. is the official name, after the Betuwe area through which the route passes. The line is popularly called Betuwelijn, after an older local ...

from

joins the line before continuing towards Germany. later the line crosses the Dutch-German border and continues towards Emmerich, where the railway becomes the Emmerich-Oberhausen railway and continues east.

Main stations

The main stations on the Rhijnspoorweg railway are: *

Amsterdam Centraal railway station Amsterdam Centraal station ( ; Railway stations in the Netherlands, abbreviation: Asd) is the largest railway station in Amsterdam, North Holland, the Netherlands. A major international Rail transport, railway hub, it is used by 192,000 passeng ...

Amsterdam Bijlmer ArenA railway station Amsterdam Bijlmer ArenA (; Railway stations in the Netherlands#List of stations, with their official abbreviations, abbreviation: Asb), previously named Amsterdam Bijlmer (1971–2006), is a Train station, railway station in the Bijlmermeer neig ...

Utrecht Centraal railway station Utrecht Centraal, officially Station Utrecht Centraal (), is the Transport hub, transit hub that integrates three bicycle parkings, two bus stations, two tram stops and the central Train station, railway station for Utrecht, Netherlands. It is t ...

Ede-Wageningen railway station Ede-Wageningen is a railway station located in Ede, Netherlands. It is situated on the Amsterdam–Arnhem railway and the Nijkerk–Ede-Wageningen railway. The station is the main Intercity station, but is not in the centre of the town. The st ...

* Emmerich

Train services

The Rhijnspoorweg is used by the following passenger services: * International services along the whole line (Amsterdam – Frankfurt) * Intercity services between Amsterdam and Arnhem (Alkmaar – Heerlen; Den Helder – Nijmegen; Schiphol Airport – Nijmegen; Zwolle – Roosendaal) * Stoptrein services between Amsterdam and Zevenaar (Uitgeest – Rotterdam; Breukelen – Rhenen; Ede-Wageningen – Arnhem; Nijmegen – Zutphen; Arnhem – Winterswijk)

Train types

A wide variety of trains can be found regularly on the Rhijnspoorweg: * ICE 3neo on the Amsterdam – Frankfurt service on the whole line. * Locomotive-hauled trains from Germany. * NS DD-IRM on the Alkmaar – Heerlen service between Amsterdam Centraal and Utrecht Centraal, Den Helder – Nijmegen service between Amsterdam Centraal and Arnhem, Schiphol Airport – Eindhoven service between Amsterdam Bijlmer ArenA and Utrecht Centraal, Schiphol Airport – Nijmegen service between Amsterdam Bijlmer ArenA and Arnhem, and Zwolle – Roosendaal between Arnhem and Arnhem Velperpoort. * NS Koploper on the Zwolle – Roosendaal between Arnhem and Arnhem Velperpoort. * NS Sprinter on the Uitgeest – Rotterdam service between Amsterdam Centraal and Breukelen, Breukelen – Rhenen service between Breukelen and Maarn, Ede-Wageningen – Arnhem service between Ede-Wageningen and Arnhem and Nijmegen – Zutphen services between Arnhem and Arnhem Velperpoort. * SLT on the Uitgeest – Rotterdam service between Amsterdam Centraal and Breukelen and Breukelen – Rhenen service between Breukelen and Maarn. * Arriva/Breng GTW on the Arnhem – Winterswijk/Doetinchem service between Arnhem and Zevenaar. * NS FLIRT on the Ede-Wageningen – Arnhem service. Large numbers of freight trains also operate along the line.

References