Work on new station tunnel over long whitsun holiday weekend

From Saturday 30 May through Monday 1 June 2020, work will continue on the additional pedestrian tunnel at Amsterdam Zuid Station. Over the course of these three days we’ll excavate part of the tracks to lay the foundations for the second roof section of the new Britten passageway. Over this long weekend, the A10 southbound motorway will remain open in both directions. The works will be concentrated between the railway and metro tracks, where existing foundation piles will get concrete reinforcement. We’ll also remove the last remaining elements of the decommissioned tram tunnel (formerly used by line 51). As space is limited, train and metro traffic have to be partially suspended to excavate the soil and complete work on the foundations. Metro and train services will consequently be reduced on Saturday, Sunday and Monday, and passengers may have to change trains more often.

INTRICATE PUZZLE

In the first weekend of last November we slid the first roof section for the new station passageway into place. That leaves another six roof sections to go. Scheduling this work is an intricate puzzle. Construction projects have to apply for suspension of train services from railway manager ProRail at least 18 months in advance. There’s a good reason for this, since ProRail runs the nationwide railway network and has to coordinate rail works all over the country. ProRail aims to combine or synchronise works to maximise efficiency and minimise disruptions for travellers. Piecing together that national puzzle takes time.

ALTERNATIVES FOR THE METRO

Suspending metro services also requires lengthy preparation. On any given weekday, some 48,000 commuters use the metro at Amsterdam Zuid Station, and about half that number at weekends. Before services may be suspended, there has to be a good alternative for these travellers. If you consider that one full metro train is equal to no fewer than nine articulated buses, you can see that’s no simple matter. We’ll let you know as soon as we know the dates of the next weekend of reduced train and metro services.