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The Weesp–Lelystad railway, also known as Flevolijn, is a
The Weesp–Lelystad railway, also known as Flevolijn, is a 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 ...
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 ...
operated by Nederlandse Spoorwegen
(, , NS ) is the principal passenger railway operator in the Netherlands. It is a Dutch state-owned company founded in 1938.
The rail infrastructure is maintained by network manager ProRail, which was split off from NS in 2003. Freight operato ...
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 ...
. The line runs from 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 ...
, North Holland
North Holland (, ) is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands in the northwestern part of the country. It is located on the North Sea, north of South Holland and Utrecht (province), Utrecht, and west of Friesland and Flevola ...
to Lelystad
Lelystad () is a Dutch Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality and the capital city of the province of Flevoland in the central Netherlands. The city, built on reclaimed land, was founded in 1967 and was named after Cornelis Lely, who en ...
, capital of the neighbouring province
A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...
of Flevoland
Flevoland () is the twelfth and newest province of the Netherlands, established in 1986, when the southern and eastern Flevopolders, together with the Noordoostpolder, were merged into one provincial entity. It is in the centre of the countr ...
. It currently has seven stations, these are (southwest to northeast): Almere Poort
Almere Gate (; ) 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 the original city ...
, Almere Muziekwijk, Almere Centrum, Almere Parkwijk, Almere Buiten
Almere Buiten is a district in the municipality of Almere in the Dutch province of Flevoland. The district houses 56,760 residents as of 2023.
Almere Buiten is made up of the following neighbourhoods: Bloemenbuurt, Bouwmeesterbuurt, Eilandenbuur ...
, Almere Oostvaarders and Lelystad Centrum. Almere Strand was closed in 2012 and Lelystad Zuid 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 theOostvaardersplassen
The Oostvaardersplassen () is a nature reserve in the Netherlands, managed by the ''Staatsbosbeheer'' (state forestry service). Covering about in the province of Flevoland, it is an experiment in rewilding.Oostvaardersplassen is discussed, for e ...
. 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 Lelystad Zuid station is expected to open in 2025.Train services
The current train services operating on the Flevolijn are:References