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HSL-Zuid

Principal facts

The new HSL track is 125 kilometres long. 85 kilometres of the route consists of newly laid high-speed track, a special type of rails that allow for speeds above 160 km/hour. There are 170 construction works, such as viaducts, bridges, tunnels and an aqueduct, and these comprise an important part of the track.

Doorgaand spoorviaduct Bleiswijk
  • The Line            

- Amsterdam - Schiphol: 17 kilometres
- Schiphol - Hoofddorp: 5 kilometres
- Hoofddorp - start high-speed track: 2 kilometres
- start high-speed track - end high-speed track: 42 kilometres
- end high-speed track - Rotterdam CS: 4 kilometres
- Rotterdam CS - Rotterdam Lombardijen: 7 kilometres
- Rotterdam Lombardijen - start high-speed track: 5 kilometres
- high-speed track - Belgian border: 43 kilometres.

  • 32,5 kilometres no-recess concrete slab;  
  • 25% of the track is at ground level;  
  • 75% of the HSL route consists of 170 construction works: viaducts, 4 tunnelsdive-unders, an aqueduct and a number of bridges. 

    Most remarkable constructions:     
    - longest span over water on the HSL route between Amsterdam and Paris: 1200 metres long bridge over the Hollandsch Diep waterway (excluding access ramps; 2 kilometres including access ramps); 
    - bored tunnel with world's greatest diameter: The Groene Hart Tunnel, with 7160 bored metres ( excluding access ramps) and almost 15 metres in diameter; 
    - longest viaduct in Europe: Bleiswijk - elvated section 6 kilometres;  
    Ringvaart Aqueduct.                 
  • Crossings: no level crossings.  
  • Bundling with motorways:              

- A4 between Leiden and Hoogmade (8 kilometres);
- A16 between Hollandsch Diep waterway and Belgian border (25 kilometres);                 

  • Realignment and widening of motorways (from 2x2 lanes to 2x3):             

- A4 Ringvaart Aqueduct - Dwarswetering; 
- A16 Galder Junction - Moerdijk.       

- Hoofddorp; 
Rotterdam West; 
- Rotterdam Lombardijen;  
- Zevenbergschen Hoek;
- Breda.               

Transport

- Amsterdam, 
- Schiphol, 
- Rotterdam, 
- Den Haag,  
- Breda

  • Speed:               

- On the route Amsterdam-Paris (Thalys): maximum of 300 kilometres per hour;
- on domestic routes and the connection to Brussels: maximum of 250 kilometres per hour.                   

Public Private Partnerships

  • Operator: HSA (High Speed Alliance) joint venture of KLM (Royal Dutch Airlines) and NS (Dutch Railways).          
  • Infrastructure Manager:         

- contract management: ProRail;  
- execution: Infraspeed.                    

The project and planning

  • Costs: € 7,154 million (including VAT, excluding availability compensation infrastructure provider - price level 2007 / source:  Progress Report 22).        
  • Publication first HSL Memorandum/Key National Spatial Planning Decision (PKB) 1: 1994;
  • Lower House approves PKB: 1997; 
  • Finalization Route Decision: 1998;
  • Start of project: 2000;
  • Start of commercial transport on HSL: 2008.                        

20-11-2008 - HSL-Zuid