Delft is the main railway station of the city of Delft, South Holland, Netherlands. It is located on the oldest railway line in the country, between the stations of The Hague Central and Rotterdam Central. Along with a new 2.3 km rail tunnel under the city centre, the current station opened on 28 February 2015.[2] The new building, which integrates the station hall with the city's municipal offices, was designed by Mecanoo, an international architecture firm that originated in Delft. The project also included a rebuilt bus station, tram stops and improved bicycle parking.

Delft
Building giving access to the underground platform
General information
LocationDelft, Netherlands
Coordinates52°00′24″N 4°21′24″E / 52.00667°N 4.35667°E / 52.00667; 4.35667
Operated byNederlandse Spoorwegen
Line(s)Amsterdam–Rotterdam railway
Platforms2 island platforms
Tracks4
Bus stands8
ConnectionsMainline rail interchange HTM Den Haag Tram: 1, 19
Bus transport HTM: N5
Bus transport RET: 40, 174
Bus transport EBS: 33, 37, 53, 60, 61, 62, 63 64, 69, 455
Construction
Structure typeUnderground
Bicycle facilitiesFree parking for 8,700 bicycles, of which 5,000 underground[1]
ArchitectFrancine Houben (Mecanoo)
Other information
Station codeDt
History
Opened31 May 1847
Rebuilt1885, 2015
Services
Preceding station Nederlandse Spoorwegen Following station
Den Haag HS NS Intercity 1100 Rotterdam Centraal
Den Haag HS NS Nachtnet 1400
Night train
Rotterdam Centraal
Terminus
Den Haag HS NS Intercity 2200
Schiedam Centrum
towards Vlissingen
NS Intercity 2300
Den Haag HS NS Intercity 2400
Schiedam Centrum
towards Dordrecht
Den Haag HS NS Intercity 3200
Schiedam Centrum
Den Haag HS
towards Venlo
NS Intercity 3700
Schiedam Centrum
towards Dordrecht
Rijswijk NS Sprinter 5000 Delft Campus
towards Dordrecht
NS Sprinter 5100
Location
Delft is located in Southwest Randstad
Delft
Delft
Location within Southwest Randstad
Delft is located in Netherlands
Delft
Delft
Delft (Netherlands)

1885 building

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The 1885 Delft station building (2023)

The initial Delft railway station was located on the Houttuinen, close to the current building. The first train passed through it on 31 May 1847, and three days later the station opened to the public. Because of increasing numbers of passengers and goods transported, a new, larger railway station opened in 1885, just to the south of the original station. Christiaan Posthumus Meyjes, Sr. designed the latter building. This building was used until 2015 when the current building opened. The old station building is historically significant, and since 2018 has been occupied by an Italian restaurant.[3][4]

Railway zone project

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New station opened in 2015

From 1964, the railway through Delft ran on a double track viaduct, created to eliminate level crossings, intending to improve the safety and fluidity of traffic through the city. However, the rail viaduct became unpopular for being visually unattractive, and because the line through Delft is busy—with between 300 and 350 trains passing daily—causing major noise pollution. Therefore, a large urban design project was formulated in 1999, designed by Spanish urban planner Joan Busquets, which saw the rail viaduct replaced by two tunnels.

The first phase was completed in February 2015, and brought the first tunnel tube with two rail tracks in operation. In 2015 the decommissioned viaduct was torn down, and a second tunnel tube with two more rail tracks was constructed underneath the path previously occupied by it. Redevelopment of the freed-up space above ground proceeded.

Currently the tube with the third and fourth tracks are complete and the above-ground railway lines are being altered to accompany the extra rails.

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References

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  1. ^ Train Tunnel News - Delft.nl
  2. ^ "Nieuw station Delft open". SpoorzoneDelft. 28 February 2015. Archived from the original on 10 October 2017. Retrieved 28 February 2015.
  3. ^ "We kunnen straks pizza en pasta eten in het oude station". indebuurt Delft (in Dutch). 2017-03-31. Retrieved 2021-12-23.
  4. ^ "Grootste restaurant van Delft geopend in Oude Station". Pavarotti (in Dutch). 2018-12-10. Retrieved 2022-02-15.
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