The Weirdest Metro System in the World | Amsterdam Metro
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 26 ก.ย. 2024
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Hi, my name's Reece. I'm a passionate Creator, Transportation Planner, and Software Developer, interested in rapid transportation all around my home base of Toronto, Canada, as well as the whole world!
#amsterdam #metro #amsterdammetro
This video a remake of a previous video incorporating your feedback, improving pronunciations, making corrections, and fully revamping the visuals and script. Please enjoy and consider sharing!
thanks. please add closed captions
Considering the subject matter, a good video to select to repair any mistakes! Keep up the excellent work!
Hey, would you, in the future, consider a video about the public transportation in Rotterdam/The Hague. I think we have some interesting hybrid stuff (metro and tram shared tracks, overhead and third rail use and the metro to the sea/Hoek van Holland) and in general the trams and bus systems? And great update to the previous episode.
Very good video! Even as a Dutchman I learned some new things. The Amsterdam metro is definitely a strange one and I don’t think it’s a perfect system. However it does it’s job without trying to be fancy and that’s all you can ask for, right? Oh and congratulations on your pronunciation!
Nice to see you got some help / footage from Not just bikes. 😊
The North-South line construction was about €3 billion. Lots of Amsterdam institutions got huge budget cuts because Amsterdam was about broke. It's easy to overlook the consequences for such expensive building projects, but they are still being felt. Meanwhile the line is forced into a success by rerouting other services towards the line. So you kind of need to use the line.
Yup, it's the cherry on the cake for Amsterdam's gentrification process.
It's clear to see for anyone that they want a lot of people out.
"Never attribute to malice, that which can be adequately explained by incompetence."
I think you give the council too much credit. They wanted to solve some of North and Zuidas connection problems, but couldn't foresee all the consequences.
Honestly I really love that line, since I often need to go to Amsterdam Zuid or Centraal, and the M51 is SUPER unreliable.
The university library and one campus is also 2 min walking distance. Sadly from main campus you can’t take the North South line, so I don’t go to the library that often since I almost always have class at the main campus.
The possibility to take the tram from main campus to Vijzelgracht and take the M50 line if the M51 is delayed/cancelled again is really nice
@@henkslaaf3738 Hanlon's Razor is what corrupt politicians and malicious actors want you to think. It's a way to deflect responsibility from the actual malicious actors out there
I do like the north-south line.. Took me a while but having a client near Anne-Frank house and stopping at the Dam, I was amazed I skipped so many tourist bumbs (for non Dutch people, The Dam is the hart of Amstersam with packs of tourists. Walking there can get you anxiety and bumbing into tourist is very common since they are looking everywhere except the road).
You forgot the coolest fact of the Noord Zuidlijn construction! They made the station float (yes really!) to dig the new station under it. The whole station floated on the IJ for a few weeks to make it happen. I went on a tour just before the line opened to see how they did it and it was amazing.
Also whenever I switch from the train to the metro at some Amsterdam stations I feel so cool that I get to stay on the same platform (just the other side), which are shared by trains and metros. I dunno why but that always feels pretty neat. Also it always feels like a bit of a race between the train and the metro on the bits where the tracks run alongside each other 😂😅
They did a similar thing with other stations. Build it above ground, excavate under it and in 2 weekt is was sunk under the surface. Amazing.
I'd love to see a larger video about the entire integrated Randstad transit system!
Praying for the day that pops up in my feed :)
Do you mean R-Net or just in general
Which system, exactly?
10 hours was the youtube max I guess? Maybe that would be just possible then :D
Waited for you to do a vid on this one again!
As an Amsterdammer, it's a fine enough metro system (if your commute is on the 5 routes it has, haha). Where it truly shines is transferring to train stations (Amsterdam has 10 train stations, and 8 of them can be accessed by metro).
But there's so many methods of public transportation here that the metro... doesn't matter too much. People in the north have become dependent on the metro to easily visit the city center though.
Only thing that would be nice is some kind of link between the central station and Sloterdijk, but like I said, there are 3 different methods to get there more easily.
Edit: I wanted to add: the new Noord-Zuidlijn stations look gorgeous, the others that aren't also train stations usually smell.
The East-West line mentioned at 6:22 should complete the downtown network because both IJburg and Nieuw-West are far from the rest of the city and the Trams crossing east-west are frequently running at max capacity (sometimes even after having stopped past North-South line stations)
There’s a lot of potential routes that could add a lot of value, Amsterdam should keep building!
@@RMTransit Sadly a lot of Amsterdammers do not actually want to see new metro construction. The entire North-South line was a construction zone for over a decade, and a lot of damage to historical buildings was done. Most people say we should wait until tunneling technology improves as a hypothetical East-West line cannot be allowed to cause the same problems and needs to be finished more quickly. That is if they want it at all, many say the north south line was not worth the cost.
I also disagree that a metro connection to Almere should be additional NS train capacity. If you look at the distance Almere would be a suburb of Amsterdam in most of the world. Travel times are short and there are a lot of people traveling this route every day. This means that metro style trains would suit the corridor better than traditional trains imo.
@@liamdenkers83 almere is dezelfde afstand als Rotterdam- Hoek van Holland. RET heeft de NS lijn Schiedam- Hoek van Holland al weggevaagt en over de RET zou eens een video gemaakt moeten worden. Zij hebben hun zaken 200X beter voor elkaar dan GVB
@@liamdenkers83 Amsterdammer here who thoroughly disagrees with those Amsterdam people opposing a new east-west line. it's nimbyism in its finest form. The route doesn't require tunnel boring or old house demolising like it did for noord-zuidlijn and the early 70s line as it can just be routed under water (singelgracht, lozingskanaal), road (lelylaan, overtoom, stadhouderskade, mauritskade, insulindeweg/next to heavy railway through muiderpoort-scipark-diemen) and/or park (vondelpark, oosterpark, flevopark) entirely, which will also be the cheapest- and is visible by the planned routing. And a rudimentary interchange station at Weesperplein has already been built. It's a no-brainer to build it, especially considering exploding house prices within Amsterdam, and an extension to Almere and Schiphol is much more logical from that hypothetical line. It's the only missing link in the Amsterdam wider transport network, a quick way to get from east to west and vice versa + a quick way to get into the south part of the inner city and tourist hotspots like museumplein and leidseplein. It might also gentrify the western neighborhoods just enough to keep them from slipping into full-on banlieue status.
I believe that it would be a great idea to make a video on the Sofia metro. It is not that popular of a system but in my opinion it is a great example of how quickly a metro can expand despite the numerous issues that exist in Bulgaria. The system has made incredible progress and has 4 lines despite it being first opened in 1998.
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P.S. I know that this is probably going to get ignored but I decided to shoot my shot anyways.
The thing that interested me was that big circle that doesnt form a loop, but a ribbon in Sofia metro. Would be great to know how it got its shape and how they operate it!
It’s not going to be ignored, but making a video is a lot of work! In time perhaps your wish will come true
Thanks! Appreciate it.
@@RMTransit Or how about Warsaw, where the "wacky" planning led to a system that's really well-used even though it doesn't go to the main station or the Old Town, and where plans call for two expensive river crossings to be built essentially next to each other, and there's a lack of coordination with other modes.
Sofia Metro could also be a contender for The Weirdest Metro System in the World. The one train track starting from Vitosha, looping at Obelya and continuing to the airport is confusing as hell. The newest yellow fourth line is unnecessary. Red line ends at Slivnitsa while the yellow one starts at Obelya, going in the direction towards the Central Train Station. Not to mention the fact that the metro doesn't service a lot of housing areas, making it a privilege.
i went to amsterdam for the ~activities~ and museums few years ago and was so wonderfully surprised by how wonderful the public transit is!! made going back to northern englands lack thereof quite painful. great video!
also the first time i ever went on a double decker train (don’t know the proper name) absolute highlight of the trip tbh
Amsterdam is absolutely excellent for its public transit!
@@staceyhucknall8539 you got it right, dubbeldekker in Dutch
Well, we cant really expect people to drive home themselves after participating in said "activities", now can we? :D
I'd be curious to see how the uk's transport infrastructure outside of london, compares to france/germany/italy. I have a feeling we don't stack up so well, but i'd like to know why :)
I have a video planned on some of that soon!
@@RMTransit you're a gem, ta
I know Tyne and Wear has it's own metro meanwhile Sheffield has their super trams. Manchester, Blackpool, Edinburgh just have well trams and everywhere has busses.
Other than that it's all busses.
Nottingham and the West Midlands (especially Birmingham) also have trams, some cities also have urban heavy rail systems - especially Liverpool / the Merseyside area and Glasgow / the Strathclyde region. Glasgow also has a small circular subway. For something really unusual, the upper and lower portions of Bridgnorth (in Shropshire) are linked by a funicular railway (Castle Hill Railway) - a type of railway that is normally only found at seaside resorts.
@@davidty2006 'it's all buses'? So ignoring Glasgow's very dense suburban rail network with about 60 stations within the city itself?
The station Amsterdam Bijlmer ArenA is really impressive and worth a look! It integrated metro, busses, regional and intercity rail really nicely.
Also it has a vast number of shops and even a Gym underneath it hahaha
It’s a really cool station indeed! The architecture is impressive by its practicality, many businesses operate there (including Burger King 😋) and Johan Cruijff ArenA is literally a minute walk away 👍
@@Michael-kv9bg The gym got replaced with a supermarket that is already at the other side of the shopping center, now we have 2 AH, 1 Lidl and 1 Vomar
@@GameOnTransit No it's still there, It's called SportCity, the AH you're talking about used to be from a clothing brand called Esprit. The Liddl is further down the road down Amsterdamse Poort :)
@@Michael-kv9bg oh yeah i mean Espirit right, theres only 1 supermarket in ArenA, The rest is in Poort. Your right, i actually went to poort yesterday beacause i live near
Cool video one note however: @ 5:43 The green line was already coloured in but you decided it needed another branch lol.
Possible video suggestion: The Netherlands is looking to European TEN-T investment for a new Highspeed rail line(Lelylijn) connecting Lelystad towards Groningen and extend connection towards Bremen-Hamburg-Kopenhagen.
Yes my animation and map got disconnected 🥲
Good idea for a future video!
Man, I love Amsterdam and the Dutch transport network. The national rail and trams are amazing. I've never tried the metro and it seems like it's had a lot of issues, but I'm not surprised the Dutch have sorted it out now. One question you left unanswered in this video is why are they not finishing off the ring line? Seems like an easy win to me.
There is now money reserved. Still debat over de route. Directly to xentral station or rhrough themnew ‘harbourcity’ development (and the maybe to north).
The Blue line from this video was actually quite a commotion politically and there were multiple times the build of the line was almost abandoned mid-construction. To this day the word 'metro' is taboo in Amsterdam as all lines have had enormous troubles, mostly due to the soil being terrible for metro building making it very expensive to build one. I do think in the future the ringline will get completed, but this will take atleast 15 years. An extension that is in the works is the Blue line to Schiphol, the national government already invested in it and so did Schiphol. Its only a matter of time for that line to be extended.
There are trains already, but it is still strange. Also the north/south line will be extended to Schiphol airport
They are not needed beacause the metro has to switch tracks at the end of every service
The last gap in the ring line has an excellent train connection, Amsterdam Central-Sloterdijk with services running under every 10 minutes. While this not completely eliminates the need for an extention it does make it less of a priority.
I really liked the Metro, trams and NS rail while I visited The Netherlands some years ago. Clean fast and efficient.
Absolutely they are great!
@@RMTransit Are you really objective??? The public transport is the most expensive i have encountered and is the worst
@@riverslepews8024 I heard people complain about the train prices, but trams, metros and buses really aren't that expensive. And paying is so easy and convenient!
@@leonpaelinck U propably work at the PR departement of the GVB/NS because everybody that Lives in the Netherlands have something to complain about public transport. Im not bashing but it is really not a first world country worthy.
@@riverslepews8024 Most of european citiziens complain about their own national/local transit system, when it's actually quite efficient and reasonably-priced most of the times. I'll visit Amsterdam in the summer and I've heard that transit is very overpriced but quite efficient, and it's the same thing people in Italy, Spain and the UK say from my experience.
The 51 metro line that run all the way to Wetswijk at the end of Amstelveen was much simpler to use than the current ‘Amstelveenlijn’ tram as users could easily go from Amstelveen Zuid to Amsterdam Centraal in one transport. It has a lot of problems but actually, the new line is also very unreliable. I actually decided to move out of Amstelveen because of this change.
I know exactly what you mean. I only take the metro because I have a full time job and partly school. Most days I have to get a car, but on Fridays I got to uni and take the metro. I loved sitting in the 51 metro and doing nothing. Now I have to get up even earlier to make sure I do not miss a connection (delays are common, as you know). Because it's only one day in the week, I make the best of it. While walking from the tram 25 to the metro 51, I buy some breakfast and maybe some lunch since I am really early. I am glad that it is not an every day thing.
this is so fascinating to see! as a dutch person living in the north of the country i don't come to amsterdam odten, and the difference in public transport throughout the country is quite extreme. in lesser populated areas there are sadly a lot of problems with it, from a lot of delays to quite some places not being reachable with public transport at all. i guess this depends on funding and different companies for the busses and trains but i still wish it worked better here.
On the other side, no traffic jams here in the north. 🙂
Great coverage of the Amsterdam Metro network! Please make a video about the Rotterdam Metro and how it connects to The Hague via Randstadrail! It's a more extensive network and it connects the countries 2nd and 3rd largest cities!
P.S. : The proposed extensions to places like Almere and Purmerend are probably never going to happen due to the already existing rail infrastructure and costs.
Thanks! I will definitely be covering the Randstad much more in the future!
Randstadrail feels like a bingo card of "what you shouldn't do when building a metro system". Metros and trams from two different operators running on the same tracks, one high floor, one low floor, changing from third rail to overhead lines, checkin inside the trams, but on platform for the metro... and yet it's *such a fast system* 😆 Now if only they'd build the Zoetermeer - Rotterdam extension. The wishful thinking continues.
The Rotterdam metro also manages to do the "Sneltram" bit quite well, the bit north of Cappelsebrug is like this with overhead wires and level crossings, just avoiding the mistakes of the Amstelveel trams by sticking with wide vehicles and high platforms
@@thijmendevalk there's already a fully separated bus lane between Bleiswijk and Rodenrijs (alongside the high-speed train line), so they could extend line 4 from Zoetermeer to Rodenrijs quite easily. You'd still have to change to line E at Rodenrijs though.
The other option would be a line branching off from Pijnacker to Zoetermeer, but I don't see that happening any time soon.
@@flp322 Yeah, but it's quicker to take the tram to Leidschenveen and change there than to take the bus to Rodenrijs... indeed holding out hope for a line 4 extension someday.
First thing I noticed that a lot of the earlier pictures are outdated, hmm I might go and photograph a lot of the routes and trains in the summer and put them online under Creative Commons license.
Like you mention on multiple occasions, indeed the metro and train lines really are next to eachother. Stations like Bijlmer Arena and Duivendrecht have the trains and metros side to side on the opposite platform. Makes for some fun pictures because metros, high speed trains, goods trains and the normal network are all next to eachother.
Related side note: The source references on this channel are just 👌🏻
@@junglist_ikon I disagree. The list of incorrect information in this video would probably require a video of the same length. But watching videos like these are just hilarious sometimes. People just don't seem to understand that if you visit a certain location once, you can't really understand a system the same way as a local person does. Even if you have a local source. And a few hours using wikipedia doesn't give you all information, nor does it emphasise on the most notable parts sometimes. So while the video is certainly entertaining and correct up to a certain point, I think the source references (including which photo's/video-clips to use) are of really low quality...
Great video! A video about the Rotterdam Metro would be nice
The blue North South line was news for years in the Netherlands duo the construction problems and soil. Yet they still managed to make it and it's an amazing addition for fast travel and public transport.
Sneltrams ("fast trams") were a huge mistake in the Netherlands. They also build a part of the Rotterdam Metro as a sneltram.
Although there are less issues nowadays with the sneltram part of the Rotterdam Metro, it still has quite some level crossings which cause incidents and force the trains running on it to move at slower speeds.
I think sneltrams are fine? You probably shouldn’t combine them with something like a high capacity metro system, but something like ye olde interurbans would probably work quite good.
In Rotterdam they even expanded the Sneltram network, al trough the two extra lines used to be regular railways before, and therefore are longer, have more grade seperation and less level crossings
Rotterdam built it better though, by keeping with wide vehicles and high platforms unlike the Amstelveel line
@@gwyneddboom2579 : They have proven to be dangerous to other road users.
I live in Rotterdam and I feel so lucky with our public transport tbh, it's very convenient and you can reach pretty much almost any part of the city with either metro, tram or bus
Ok
when are you gonna do the Rotterdam Metro, it also uses both 3rd rail and overhead lines
I’m not sure yet, it’s on the list but there are a lot of systems on my list!
@@RMTransit make sure to look at the RandstadRail too, very interesting piece of infrastructure where the tracks are shared by the Rotterdam Metro and The Hague Tram
Can the Rotterdam Metro get a video in the future. It was the first metro in the Netherlands after all.
(And one of only two metro systems in NL, maybe 3 in the future)
and the third one will be?
@@rienkoII Maybe Utrecht, but is more of a proposed proposal.
@@jaspboynl8094 well i though the hague would get the third metro line cuz there is already a metro going there but its not official from the hague
Kudos at trying to pronounce all these Dutch names, but I couldn't help but chuckle at 'Hoopdorf' instead of 'Hoofddorp' (1:44) 🤭
That and the 'A' river :P
You've really done your homework here Reece. Nice work! As a citizen of the Netherlands it's easy to forget how advanced our networks are when compared to some of the other places around the world. Always nice to see a bit of lore from your own home grounds, yeah? Keep up the good work!
very nice remake of your old video. Will you do the Berlin Tramsystem in the future? Would be really cool cause of its intense history, great size and extension plans for the future.
I absolutely will yes
Very interesting! And kudos for having a solid go at pronouncing all the Dutch names 🙂
I live in Amsterdam just to the south of the Vondelpark. Almost all my journeys are on foot or by bike. I take the bus to the airport since I'm a short walk from a direct bus line, and I take the tram if I need to get to Central Station with more luggage than I can cycle with, again, there is a direct tram line a short walk away. About once a year or so I might use a car from a car sharing service, for example to get plants from a garden center (I have not owned a car for almost 20 years). In total it's maybe 10 trips a year via some means of transport other than bike or walk, as opposed to maybe 1000+ where the only power is my own muscles (I want to make it to my 80s before I get an eBike). The one mode of public transport I have not used for years is the metro. There are no stops near my house (nearest is Zuid WTC, which is 15-20 minutes by bike, much further than tram and bus options) and it doesn't go anywhere useful. I thought the Sneltram was funny when I first moved here because I could easily beat it to the end of the line by bike, even if I started at a tram stop after the doors closed :) . I have not tried racing the new version, I guess it wont be so easy, especially since I'm 20 years older :) .
Very cool and exciting to learn about the metro line I used to ride in my childhood.
I never questioned why the 51 line needed platform extenders. It just felt like that was how it was supposed to work, haha.
Youthful acceptance, I suppose :).
Incredible to learn there were conflicting platform systems in place. Understandable the service was eventually replaced. Although, it was very sad to hear they stopped the service (and you would need a transfer to get from Amstelveen to central station).
This video made me appreciate the new trams more. Thank you for covering this!
Wow! This is excellent. Since I have always stayed in the very heart of town, I had no idea about all of this. This is definitely one of your better explainers, and your Dutch pronunciation is pretty good.
The Amstelveen line 51 in the past when it was introduced came with a promise.
Since the arrival of the sneltram the bus connection between Amstelveen and Amsterdam Central Station (lijn 67) was scrapped.
The promise was that we would keep a direct connection to Central Station from Amstelveen.
With the scrapping of sneltram 51 to Amstelveen and the introduction of the Amsteltram 25 we have lost that connection.
At Amsterdam South the 25 even stops outside the station away from all connections to Central Station and other Metro lines.
Now you have to walk a bit into the station and then wait for another connection to Central Station.
Me and a lot of other 'Amstelveners' feel 'betrayed' by the City transport (GVB).
Due to the sneltram Amstelveen always feeled connected to Amsterdam Citycenter, not so much anymore.
Traveling became much worse.
Dear RM, great vid, on point, only miss the next argument for discontinuing the Amstelveenlijn. Because of the construction of the Zuidas-dok, in other words the road/freeway tunnel construction for the A10 Zuid, the Amstelveenboog (translated Amstelveen-curve) became obsolete. This former underpass provided the rail connection between the higher situated Amsterdam-Zuid station and the street level Parnassusweg tracks towards or from Amstelveen. Because of the road tunnel construction, this underpass could not be used any longer. Also, the former trajectory of the Amstelveenlijn at this location would have interfered with future expansion of lines towards Amsterdam Schiphol and Hoofddorp.
One other thing, the majority of the tunnels necessary to close the Ringlijn between Amsterdam Centraal station and the now ‘end-point’ of this line at the Tramsformatorweg have already been constructed. The decision to finalize this section still needs to be made. This while the respective area is one of those other emerging neighborhoods of Amsterdam where the lack of regular transit may truly make a significant difference in lowering congestion and improvement of accessibility of these neighborhoods. Alas, the city of Amsterdam remains indecisive on this point, whilst a plan for accessing these new and revived neighborhoods with yet another branch line like initiative, comparable to the former Amstelveenlijn, is in the planning phase.
That’s all for now. Love this vid, especially where you took the time to explain in depth on the weirdness of the Amsterdam subway system. Like I said, absolutely on point. Cheerio
At the end of my studies as a student I used to board the ring line every day at the Amsterdam Zuid station at Zuidas (literally meaning south axis). This was before the 'knip' (cut) in 2020 and the 'sneltrams' were still running trough. As Zuid station was the point of transition it always was interesting to see the sneltrams raise their pantographs along the platform as I was waiting for a ring line trainset using the same platform to arrive.
Cool, always love to see vids about my home nation :) Please consider doing a video on the Rotterdam metro too. It's a pretty unique system!
I certainly will!
Great video Reece. You also managed to perfectly pronounce the names of the districts, stations and towns. Well done as it's no mean feat to do so. The next challenge for Amsterdam is to terminate the Eurostar, Thalys and IC Brussels services at Amsterdam Zuid where travellers will then be able to use the Noord Zuid metro line to reach Amsterdam Centraal and intermediate stations. This will then allow the afore-mentioned train services to be a lot closer in joining the HSL at Hoofddorp and not have to navigate the slow moving portion of the journey through Lelylaan and Sloterdijk. You can expect to see changes start in 2024, the year in which the Eurostar and Thalys platform at Amsterdam Centraal will be removed as part of a major station upgrade. This will also mean that Pro Rail will have to find space at Amsterdam Zuid to build a new customs and immigration hall to house the Dutch Koninklijke Marechausee and the UK Border Police for departing passengers for London on the Eurostar service.
He got the pronunciations mostly right. However, I don't expect a non Dutch person to make the guttural noise when saying Schiphol.
@@randommonacur2151 The only debatable pronunciation was "Hoofddorp" but I am willing to overlook that considering all other names were excellent. Reece didn't fall into the trap of Germanifying Schiphol into 'Shiphol' (sic).
They did Germanify? Jewify? Spanify? Gein and Gaasperplas into Hein and Haasperplas though.
I used the new M52 a couple months before Covid kicked off in Europe. It's a very nice design. Extending the M52 outwards to the town north would be fine seeing it doesn't have lots of stations, its rather rapid and has the capacity. Likewise the proposed East-West route. The NS network through Amsterdam seems pretty congested; no point making it more so when you don't need to.
Great video, do you have plans for making a video about the other metro in our country, the metro of Rotterdam ?
Eventually yes!
Don't really agree with the take on Almere's and Purmerend's connection being a weird choice. Speaking from my experience here in Stockholm, we have metro lines that extend some 20km away from the center (e.g. Ropsten-Norsborg on the red line) which are much more convenient to use than commuter train lines (pendeltåg) from places closer to the city (Huddinge for example).
If the plan is to also open development around stations to-from Almere and Purmerend it does make more sense to have a metro line and a denser number of stations in the line rather than local trains that have a longer distance between stations.
One thing you forgot to mention is that Amsterdam is almost entirely built on poles! That's why it's so hard to built tunnels. Hitting one can seriously damage the building that's resting on it.
It would be really nice if you would make a video about the Frankfurt U-Bahn system which is a pretty peculiar light-rail/metro system in Germany, since it is pretty similar in operation with parts of the Amsterdam Metro! In Frankfurt, the oldest trains of the Frankfurt U-Bahn (retired since 2016) are pretty much the same Siemens/Duewag U2 LRVs of the Calgary C-Train! And if you could also make a video about Bucharest Metro in Romania, it would be awesome, since this system has many innovations that other metro/subway systems in Europe/North America considered later, such as the introduction of electronic ticketing in the 1990s (with magnetic cards), newer, Toronto-Rocket-style trains introduced in 2001 (with open gangways, which would be only later introduced on most systems in Europe or North America) and made by Bombardier (the same technology used here would be introduced 8 years later on the Toronto Subway, with the introduction of the Toronto Rocket trains), Automatic Train Operation, introduced at the same time (2001), alongside with the Bombardier trains and so on! If you can do both systems, in Frankfurt and in Bucharest, it would be awesome!
I lived in Frankfurt and am now in Bucharest, strange to imagine but Bucharest metro is much better than Frankfurt.
Frankfurt is so expensive and dirty and unreliable, Bucharest is cheap, safe and works much better
This was a good improvement on the original video, thank you for making it 🙂
The trams here in Manchester are high floor as most of the network uses old mainline track, so the solution was pretty simple. Just have the whole floor at platform level and make platforms where they were needed.
The acceleration sound of line 51 with the 'bong" followed by stops like 'Gondel' or 'Uylenstede' will be forever in my memory. Nostalgia hits hard. Left the area in 2011 but still come there often.
Ah, you missed some of the realistic plans to extend the metro...
In any case the reason Almere and Purmerend are options (and why the province wants to extend towards Zaandam and Schiphol as well) is because the national rail network is very busy in these areas which has knock on effects on large parts of the rest of the network. While they have added more trains there in the last few years (and next year the intercity will also stop in Purmerend) it's just not enough, especially when factoring in future growth.
Yea, also the train between Amsterdam and Almere at least takes a suboptimal route over the existing hollandsche brug, while a metro would potentially go under the markermeer, making the trip only about 10 to 15 minutes between the city centers.
Honestly a west-east Zaandam to AMS Noord and IJburg would be handy too
Great idea to make the video future proof by beginning the video with a picture of the NS ICNG that's not yet in service. Nice video even for a Dutch person from near Amsterdam who already knew everything in the video. 😉
And then to contrast that he's put in some pictures 'uit de oude doos' from the 90's 😆
Hot take: the world's weirdest metro system is in Omsk.
(There is exactly one functioning station: Biblioteka imeni Pushkina. You can't actually go anywhere from it except return to the street outside, because there are no other stations to connect it to. AFAIK some tunnels have been built but nothing ever got opened.)
you should also make a video about the Rotterdam metro
Amstelveenlijn “speed and reliability (...) much improved”? Um, no.
There are many more malfunctions on the new line than on the old one. And it may be faster for some, but since a number of stops (including the closest *two* for me) have been removed, total travel time has increased if you happen to live near a removed stop (or two).
Finally, the old line brought you straight to Amsterdam Zuid, Amstel and Centraal stations. The new one ends at Zuid, and for the foreseeable future a 5 min. walk away. So you need to walk, wait, and transfer onto a metro to get anywhere else, which takes much longer.
This. They could have, and should have, extended the North-South Metro Line to the Amstelveen line, which with its fully separated track, reduced station density and underpasses at major crossings perfectly lends itself for a metro line. However, the city chose to build an underground highway instead, blocking the space underneath Zuid for public transit. Yes, the metro gave way to cars. It’s disgusting.
I see the Amsterdam metro nowadays as a baby version of the Berlin S-Bahn, especially in the way it interconnects with national rail services and the way the lines are running and intertwined with each other at this moment, except for line 52 ofcourse.
Great video as usual! Would be interested in a video about the Helsinki metro!
Already in the works!
Ah yes the Helsinki Metro. Travelled on it in 2017: very modern.
I think its worth saying that Bijlmermeer used be a 'bad' area but the city has been doing a whole lot of transformation and its a really nice area now.
i appreciate your video, nice to learn some thing about my city. personally, i found it really hard to keep up tho. you talk pretty fast, so watching / listening pleasure will improve for me if it's a bit more relaxed. hope thats usefull!
Gosh I want to live in Amsterdam so bad. The Brazilian city I live in is double the size, double the population, and has ZERO metro/tram network. Only buses and cars. It's hell.
Legal eu também
I lived in Westwijk for about 8 years during the time the Metro 51 or "Sneltram" was serving it.
To be honest while the systemic issues with the dual pick-up method and longer platforms, etc. are completely valid, the whole system as a whole worked perfectly fine. Amstelveen is a huge suburbia-style area with lots of commuters, and a high-density Metro made travel into the inner-city take 30 minutes at most even at peak rush hour where the trains were doubled up. Building the Metro in the middle of an arterial road might've also introduced unnecessary cross-paths with pedestrians and cars, but the lamps, bells, gongs and barriers were a very good and accessible solution. Moreover it provided equal access to the Metro line from both sides of the suburban developments as they were built. I especially remember that early into my time in the Netherlands only one side of Westwijk was built, with the other half being built during my time there.
I'm looking forward to try out the new Amsteltram and to compare it to what I know from childhood, but riding those incredibly unique Metros will forever be a core memory.
I went to Amsterdam around two months ago, and since I had seen some old transit map, I was actually kind of confused why there was no metro service to Amstelveein
I had no idea that it was gone, I used to work at the VUMC hospital near amsterdam zuid and used to take the sneltram to the city center sometimes.
Reminds me very much of København - extremely well put together video! Thanks!
I would like to recommend U Bahn Nürnberg for a Video. Germanys first autonomous Underground, partly using the right of way of germanys first railway. Also I like the G1 EMUs
Also if you want video material just contact me.
Yep, it’s very interesting! I can’t contact people in the TH-cam comments, there is no feature that lets me do that unfortunately.
14:16 wow, a train electric power supply pun
Make pls a video about the Rotterdam metro system. It's much larger and more beautiful than the Amsterdam lines.
Thank you for covering my country's capital!
The new amsteltram provides everything but a reliability improvement unfortunately and a cumbersome connection to the metro at amsterdam zuid which used to be unnecessary with the sneltram
I live in Amsterdam (relocated Brit) and i love the transport options here and across the country. Although these days im mostly on my bike lol
As a local thanks for pointing out the mess of the Amstelveen line, it was always a kludge but kinda cool because on the metro platform in Zuid they had to take a minute to switch mode and raise (or lower) the overhead power and third rail connector.
The M5 (and M7) walk-through stock is really good though, even for international standards like this channel: it is a long fun tube but also more seriously the capacity and convenience and the safety experience of the continuous open space, with less isolation/entrapment and more eyes/ears around feels really modern. Especially compared to the old stock with its cramped space like the bad hybrids on the Amstelveen line contrasts how this stuff really matters a lot in the daily experience.
Also a pass on pronunciation, it was a fair attempt.
Thanks, I try my best
Great video, I enjoy your videos and love hearing about NL railways!
The East West line was always planned but never executed. Weesperplein and Vijzelgracht have the E-W stations already built and ready for transformation when this finally happens.
If you go to Weesperplein station, on the Northbound platform you can see that the lift goes to this lower level. There is also a button you can press if you have a key! (I always peer down hoping to see some lights on!)
Vijzelgracht is currently building a carpark in this crossplatform area.
Ijburg was supposed to be a metro line from Amsterdam CS, but for some reason it was never converted to this (probably the same issue with the 3rd rail/overhead power on the Amstelveen line)
Thanks a lot. Have been wanting to check out the Amsterdam Metro. Hope you have some from the cab position in video. Will search for more. Especially where the NS and Metro are on the same or adjacent platforms.
You should really do a video on the Rotterdam metro! It’s even weirder than the Amsterdam one.
Haha idk if I’d call it weirder but of course I will!
true
But way better organized than Amsterdams metrosystem. And even bigger.
@the.6.boys_ That's not the only reason. Rotterdam has created a network of metrolines that go all the way up to the beach, city centre, suburbs, places far outside Rotterdam etc. With the Rotterdam metro you travel long distances in a short amount of time depending from where you depart and where you take off. With a reliable frequency of metro's. While in Amsterdam you can't go very far with the metro and are still required to take a tram or bus to get to the intended destination. Sure in Rotterdam that's also the case on certain parts of the city or outside but in most surburbs or in the city centre you only have to walk from where the journey starts and within 5-10 minutes walking or biking you already reach a metrostation no other form of public transportation needed. Of course Rotterdam was heavily bombed during WW2 while Amsterdam wasn't so Rotterdam had more space but still even the extensions that went through space within the city where they stumbled on similar challenges in construction like Amsterdam they still did it because it would make transportation by public transit easier while in Amsterdam they pulled back due to costs or backlash from people.
Nice Video! Could you do a video about the Munich U-Bahn and S-Bahn?
Eventually I want to yes!
I live in Amsterdam but I have to say the metro system here is not that great when you have to use it. The lines are overlapping (e.g. if I want to go from Sloterdijk to Centraal I can only take some of the trains because the others go to Gein, you have to look up which train is coming) and the services are very infrequent. The connectivity with tram network is not great either, walking and waiting times are very long, sometimes up to 20 minutes for a transfer. Again, Amsterdam is difficult to build metro, so I get why, but it definitely can use a better design.
Coming from Hong Kong it is hard to get used to the frequency of the Amsterdam metro.
Yep, in Tokyo every 3 minutes a metro on the Yamanote Line
12:33 that's the tram stop at Amsterdam South and boy is it unwieldy, especially with all the taxis around it
Can you do a video on the Rotterdam Metro. I believe it's one of the few metro to have grade crossings.
Yeah, the new tram vehicles are pretty good looking. The new look of the line looks good.(better known as tram line 25)
From cabin view, I see that some stations were removed and some stations were added. Some stations also seem to be in underground minus the tunnel.
By the way did you make a review for Istanbul's transportation network or will you do it one day?
Great video, when are you going to make one of the Rotterdam metro lines?
I see you did Amsterdam, what about Rotterdam 👀
The London Overground has dual power trains, switching between 25kV ac overhead lines, and 750V dc third rail. And also has to be compatible with the 4th rail power supply on the District Line.
Yep, but it’s not a relatively young Metro!
12:36 is at the core of why the Netherlands is so successful. It's not about being perfect, it's about being willing to acknowledge your mistakes and improve.
This is at the core of the struggles in Toronto, where we have a very "that's the way we've always done it" mentality.
I’m studying abroad in Amstelveen and loved learning this!
They are currently extending the Amstelveen sneltram line south to Uithoorn, ending at what used to by a train station that was closed in the 70s.
I keep telling people one of the biggest successes of dutch infra is the way once its built if it doesn't work they are willing to sit down again and redesign it. In the UK if something gets built then turns out to not work, tough you have to live with it being inadequate for the next 30 years.
When we visited Amsterdam in 2016, we didn't take the Metro at all. We stayed next door to the Sloterdijk station, and mostly took buses to our destinations. The awkward looped routing from Sloterdijk to the central station made the short bus ride more appealing. The cool thing is that we parked our rental car at a park and ride the entire time we were in the city. The rental was great to have when we were visiting the countryside and Texel, but we didn't touch it in Amsterdam, and paid 15 euro for 96 hours of parking.
I really like that you did made remake! All the points I missed in the previous video are mentioned in the new one :)
It’s fun to see all the places I’m at daily in this video :)
0:56 pffft, "Egg Waterway"
I recently visited Amsterdam in October 2023, and I must say, I did really love the public transport system. I got a 4-day OV period card provided by my campus, which hosted the trip. I come from Denmark, another country with great public transport on average, and I have used the Copenhagen public transport a lot, and I think that Copenhagen has something to improve like trams, the metro was also good but I do feel like the convenience and rapid service of the copenhagen metro was better. Otherwise, a very well designed public transport system in my opinion (I did only use the metro and occasional trams though)
The train in 1:49 looks so cute!
Every part of the Netherlands has transportation why only talk about amsterdam
At 5:08: this is not Amsterdam Heemstedestraat, this is Amsterdam Lelylaan (smaller transport hub where tram, train (sprinter services), metro and bus services interconnect. You can switch here for example from the train to the metro, bus to tram, metro to bus, etc etc.
Edit: some of the photos are very old judging by the digital timetables on the stations: these are very old and were already replaced some years ago: the new ones are very modern and good.
Cool you actually pronounce the names correctly.
I spotted a drawing issue where you routed via the main NS railway line. Van der madeweg is a metro interchange for south to west and north to east. This happens before duivendrecht station which is only served by line 50 and 54.
Weird as in the metro is
- safe
-clean
-on time
-for everybody(not frowned upon)
As a above-rivers-Dutchie, I cant help but scream GEIN to my screen every time you say it wrong. It's ok, nice video.
make a video on the tram network, and also explain how it integrates with amsterdam metro which integrates with the NS, as also trams are all feeding all NS and most of the metro stations what is weird, in order to get home id rather get of the bus onto a train for one stop some times, like bus 64 from "de rivierenbuurt" final destanation "indische buurt" funny how i can take so many routes......... quikest was if there was a train just arriving when the bus stopped at amstelstation jumping and running for it, for the one stop to amsterdam muiderpoort.from bus to heavy rail line to gain 10 minutes
The NS train network is so full and many trains, including intercities, have so many stops, basically every train is a glorified metro line that covers bigger distances.
I feel like your description of high-floor trams is a bit one-sided.
With high platform stations, they are superior in every way to low-floor trams:
- better accessibility (single floor height),
- lower maintenance, less noise, and higher ride comfort (axle + conical wheels allow self-centering),
- higher capacity, and
- faster boarding.
Of course, the station cost is a major point against them, but often times, low-floor trams are used as an excuse to build no proper station at all, and they are more likely to be found stuck in traffic, too.
You're asking for an LRT, not for a tram.
@@MarioFanGamer659 That's more often a political than a technical distinction
When my wife and I were on holiday in Amsterdam we got the 5 day tram ticket and we just got on the tram outside the hotel and got off at the centraal station and depending on our mood got on a random tram and see where it went and that’s how we found ijburg, plus you got to see where the locals went to eat and shop, great city , great people
Indonesians be like: Ah, how the same we are, Dutch.
Interesting metro map. In Vienna all the lines go through city centre
Do a Video about Düsseldorf and Cologne!
In karlsruhe (german city near the rhein) they took 12 years to build a 4km Metro line. its called the Kombilösung and summs up germanys problem with paperwork..
In Kraków (Poland) they took 33 years to build a 1,5km tram tunnel.
A quick note/correction: The NS is the main national rail transport provider but that tram or light rail as you showed in the beginning has nothing to do with the NS, trams in Amsterdam are run by the GVB (Municipal Transport Company). Also metro lines 53 and 54 split up at station Van der Madeweg, not Duivendrecht. Duivendrecht was the name of the metro station until 1993 when we got a new shiny NS train station with the same name.
I couldn't disagree more about the livery of R-Net. It is generic and dull. But by far the worst problem with it, is that busses, trams, metros and trains all around the Randstad are now given this livery.... which means the all look the same, making public transpirt dull and boring.
This together with the vihicles themselves becomming more and mire uniform (like every single regional rail provider in both the Netherlands and other countries as well using the same Flirt 3, Spurt, or Lint trains) makes me feel public transportation is going downhill.
And it it not like these trains and trams are of good quality. They have worse seats than the older trains and trams, with the newest local train from the NS being nicknamed "the backpain express" because the seats stand too upright. They are usually "short term solutions" because the current Dutch centre-rightwing government (which has been in power for more than 10 years now with 4 terms) is more concerned with patching up old stuf right now with relatively cheap stuf that breaks quickly than buy good quality.
But as long as the design is "new" and the marketing campaign is good, that will do the job tricking the masses that we are getting an upgrade. Fun fact: if i package says "new/improved recipes" it is instead of worse quality, cheaperly made, but offered to you for the same or a higher cost. That's exactly what's going on in public transport right now!