The challenge
Station Driebergen-Zeist is an important regional mobility hub which, over time, had become unsafe, inefficient, and unpleasant for the thousands of people who use it each day.
Station Driebergen-Zeist is an important regional mobility hub which, over time, had become unsafe, inefficient, and unpleasant for the thousands of people who use it each day.
Arcadis experts reimagined the station and surrounding landscape and helped make this innovative design a reality.
The new station enables smoother and much safer travel for around 12,500 people each day and the facility uses around 50% less energy.
The Driebergen-Zeist station area is close to the A12 highway, the railway station and the regional bus network. This means that the area has heavy road traffic and is also an important public transport hub. But poor infrastructure in the area caused structural congestion and long tailbacks at intersections, in addition creating unsafe situations on and around the railway. The issues have been a ongoing headache for many passengers, car drivers and local companies for years.
The development of a completely renovated station area solves these bottlenecks and transforms the station and its surroundings into a compact, safe and sustainable traffic and public transport hub. The station acquired an additional track and a wide, centrally located platform, while the new bus station makes the surrounding municipalities more accessible. On the south side, a spacious parking garage can accommodate around six hundred cars. The station area also blends in well with the ancient trees and historic buildings of its green surroundings. The area was designed for maximum sustainability—materials from the old station were reused during construction and solar panels were installed on the platform roofs.
Together with client ProRail, Arcadis supervised implementation of the Driebergen-Zeist station project, making limiting disruption for residents and passengers a top priority. We were also involved in the preliminary work, including the initiative and feasibility phase, the zoning process and the Council of State procedure. We created the reference design, visual quality plan and the design for the temporary station, and took care of communication and coordination with residents, businesses and surrounding properties. We also assessed the safety records of the contractors and drew up the comprehensive safety file to obtain a license to operate from the Dutch Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate. Finally, we were responsible for drawing up various agreements and contracts, as well as the associated tendering and implementation processes. We continue to provide post-project assistance.
Everyone benefits from the new station area, which can easily handle 12,500 passengers a day. Public transport users and drivers enjoy traveling via Driebergen-Zeist, while the surrounding companies are more accessible. The interior design of the station landscape, which incorporates English countryside design elements, makes the whole area look and feel pleasant and safe. The new station area makes Driebergen-Zeist not only more accessible, but also more sustainable, more energy efficient and even more attractive than it was.