PROJECT STORY
The challenge
Station exceeds its capacity limits
Amsterdam Centraal Station will soon be able to accommodate more passengers
Arcadis provides all engineering services
The challenge
In the coming years, Amsterdam expects to see a considerable increase in the number of tourists and commuters passing through the city. This growing stream of passengers must be able to travel safely to and from the Dutch capital, but Centraal Station will soon reach the limit of its capacity.
The solution
In order to cope with growth in passenger numbers, Centraal Station is undergoing an extensive program of renovation work, including widening the platforms and increasing the capacity of escalators. The Eastern Tunnel will also be widened considerably. These measures will enable more passengers to wait on the platforms, speed up the process of boarding and alighting, and enable passengers to make their way down to the first floor faster. To make room for the wider platforms, the middle tracks will be removed.
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Adapting Amsterdam Centraal Station is a complicated and time-consuming task. Not only do all the changes have to match this historic environment, but the station needs to remain open throughout the work, with minimal disruption to passengers.
For this to happen, a careful plan is crucial. As part of a framework contract with ProRail, Arcadis is providing all of the engineering services for this unique project. In cooperation with architects Zwarts en Jansma, we are taking care of everything from the technical design and installation sketches to contracting and tendering. Based on archive drawings and 3D scans, we created a BIM model to use as the basis for the new design. The model enables us to see exactly how all objects—including stairs and escalators, the new platforms and the passenger tunnels—will fit in the building. In some areas, the available space is tight, and it would not be possible to work with the same degree of precision without BIM modeling and 3D scans.
In the next ten years, the population of the Randstad region around the Netherlands' major cities will increase by around 500,000. All of these people will want to be able to enjoy smooth travel to their places of work, study or to visit family and friends. I am pleased to be investing with the Amsterdam region to make the train an even more attractive alternative for travel to and from the Dutch capital.
The impact
On completion of the renovation work, the capacity of the Centraal Station in Amsterdam will be significantly higher, enabling the station to process 40% more passengers and 25 more trains per hour. In addition, safety at the platforms will be improved, there will be more space for passengers to wait, and boarding and alighting will be faster. With all of these adjustments, Amsterdam's Centraal Station is fit for the future.
