The railway from Amsterdam through Haarlem to Rotterdam (also: ''Oude Lijn'', Dutch for "old line") runs from Amsterdam Centraal to Rotterdam Centraal through

Haarlem Haarlem (; predecessor of ''Harlem'' in English language, English) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the Provinces of the Nether ...

(and

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

). From December 2011 it is used by all direct trains from

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 ...

, and all direct supplement-free trains from Amsterdam to

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 ...

except those through

Woerden Woerden () is a city and a municipality in central Netherlands. Due to its central location between Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague, and Utrecht, and the fact that it has rail and road connections to those cities, it is a popular town for commu ...

History

It contains the oldest railway line in the Netherlands, and follows the old

horse-drawn boat A horse-drawn boat or tow-boat is a historic boat operating on a canal, pulled by a horse walking beside the canal on a towpath. United Kingdom The Romans are known to have used mules to haul boats on their waterways in the UK. Boat horses were ...

(Dutch: ''

trekschuit Trekschuit (; , 'tugged boat') is an old style of sail- and horse-drawn boat specific to the Netherlands, where it was used for centuries as a means of passenger traffic between cities along ''trekvaarten'', or tow-canals. History The first ...

'') canal route from Leiden via Haarlem to Amsterdam- Sloterdijk. It was opened between 1839 and 1847 by the

Hollandsche IJzeren Spoorweg-Maatschappij The Hollandsche IJzeren Spoorweg-Maatschappij () or HSM (''Hollands Iron Railway-Company'') was the first railway company in the Netherlands founded on 8 August 1837 as a private company, starting operation in 1839 with a line between Amsterdam ...

. The oldest section, opened in 1839, ran from Amsterdam to Haarlem.

Leiden Leiden ( ; ; in English language, English and Archaism, archaic Dutch language, Dutch also Leyden) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Nethe ...

and The Hague were reached in 1843, and the final section from The Hague to Rotterdam was opened in June 1847. The opening of the Weesp–Leiden railway (1978) and the Amsterdam–Schiphol railway (1986) provided a shorter connection from Leiden through Schiphol Airport to Amsterdam. Nevertheless, the old line via Haarlem has remained an important railway line. In March 2015 a new tunnel and station were opened in

Delft Delft () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, Netherlands. It is located between Rotterdam, to the southeast, ...

, underpassing the former railway station and viaduct. On 2 August 2024 the doubling of the tracks was completed after a long delay.

References

External links

Nederlands Spoorwegmuseum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Amsterdam-Haarlem-Rotterdam railway Railway lines in the Netherlands Railway lines opened in 1847 1847 establishments in the Netherlands Railway lines in North Holland Railway lines in South Holland Standard-gauge railways in the Netherlands Rail transport in Amsterdam Rail transport in Rotterdam 19th-century architecture in the Netherlands