General Q: How much is the construction of the Noord/Zuidlijn going to cost?
A: The Noord/Zuidlijn will cost €1.8 billion. The City of Amsterdam (including the so-called risk fund) will be paying €680 million of that, and the region is also contributing some. The national government is paying the rest. Q: How many passengers will the Noord/Zuidlijn carry each day?
A: More than 200,000 passengers are expected to use the Noord/Zuidlijn each day. Q: When will the Noord/Zuidlijn go into operation?
A: The new metro is expected to start running in 2015. Q: Have there already been archaeological finds during excavations?
A: Indeed, there have already been a number of finds. The objects were discovered during the preparation for the construction of the Noord/Zuidlijn’s Rokin Station. Q: Which contractors are building the Noord/Zuidlijn?
A: You can find more information about all of the contractors elsewhere on this site as well as in the general brochure about the Noord/Zuidlijn. The brochure is available through the Information Centre at Stationsplein 7, Tel: (020) 344-5070. Q: When will the tunnel-boring machines begin boring?
A: The boring of the tunnels will start from the first caisson in the water of the Damrak in the second half of 2008. Q: Will you be able to park your bike at the stations of the Noord/Zuidlijn?
A: That will be possible at the stations in Amsterdam-Noord, at Central Station, at Europaplein Station and at Zuid Station. For the three ‘deep’ stations (Rokin, Vijzelgracht and Ceintuurbaan), the possibility of expanding existing bicycle parking facilities or creating new ones is currently being studied. Q: Which organisation will be operating the Noord/Zuidlijn?
A: This is not yet known. Route and connections Q: How long will the Noord/Zuidlijn route be?
A: The Noord/Zuidlijn is 9.7 km long. Of this, 6 km will be underground, and 3.2 km of the underground section will have been bored. Q: How often will the new metro line run?
A: The Noord/Zuidlijn will run once every four minutes during rush hour and otherwise every five minutes during the day and once every 10 minutes in the evening. One time the metro will run from Amsterdam-Noord to Zuid Station, and the next metro train will run from Amsterdam-Noord to Amstelveen Westwijk Station. Q: Why was this particular route chosen?
A: The Noord/Zuidlijn will go through the city centre because that is precisely where the existing public transportation network runs a risk of becoming bogged down. Good and fast public transportation to the city centre is necessary in order to retain the current level of employment there. The city centre is of importance to people from the entire region and has both national and international significance in terms of tourism and culture. The choice to have the metro run beneath Ferdinand Bolstraat (rather than via the Boerenwetering) was made for a couple of reasons. For one, this makes it possible to have an entrance right at the popular Albert Cuyp Market. But is also allows for a station beneath Europaplein, close to the main entrance of Amsterdam RAI, the city’s primary exposition and conference centre. Q: What will be the consequences for tram and bus lines?
A: The new metro line will relieve the surface-level network of trams and buses so that they can operate more reliably. And that is a good thing, since mobility will be increasing across the board. The Noord/Zuidlijn will bring about changes in the surface-level public transportation. Trams in the city centre are currently very slow. Throughout the city as a whole, the trams reach an average speed of 16 km per hour. The metro will have an average speed of 35 km per hour in the city. More passengers are expected to take the metro between stations that will serve both the metro and the trams. This is logical, since you will get to where you want to go more quickly on the metro. Trams that connect the east and west sides of the city will be running more often, precisely to enable a quick transfer to the metro. The network of trams and buses as a whole will remain intact. Q: Will the metro route be extended to Purmerend, Zaanstad and Schiphol?
A: As yet there are no concrete plans for this, but it certainly could happen at some point in time. Q: How does the metro connect to the Oostlijn (East Line)?
A: In fact it does not, but below Central Station both metro lines will share a dividing hall. And at Zuid Station you will be able to catch both the Noord/Zuidlijn and the metro line that goes to Amstelveen. Q: Will the ferries continue to operate on the IJ once the Noord/Zuidlijn is running?
A: Yes, the ferries will continue to operate. Stations Q: Which stations are currently under construction and what is being done there?
A: Work is currently under way on the following stations: Rokin, Central Station, Vijzelgracht, Ceintuurbaan and Europaplein. In Amsterdam-Noord, the preparatory building activities for the Noord/Zuidlijn began in April 2004. For more information about the building activities for each station individually, click here. Q: What is the average distance between the stations?
A: The stations of the Noord/Zuidlijn are located an average of 1100 metres away from each other. Q: How deep will the stations be?
A: That varies. The deepest will be Ceintuurbaan Station, where the lowest platform will be 26.5 metres below street level. The least deep is Europaplein Station at 11 metres below street level. For more information, click here. Q: Will there be parking garages near the stations?
A: Since an excavation pit already had to be dug for the construction of the stations on Rokin and Vijzelgracht, it will be relatively simple to build an underground parking garage there as well. As the stations on Rokin and Vijzelgracht will be some 25 metres deep, there will be room for a car park above the stations. The parking spaces in the underground car parks will replace parking spaces aboveground. Q: Can more stations be added to the line later?
A: Yes, it will be possible to extend the Noord/Zuidlijn in future. New end stations could be built at Schiphol/Hoofddorp and at Zaandam/Purmerend, for example. Q: Will there be a station at Sixhaven?
A: No station will be built there at this point. The route was designed in such a way that building at station at Sixhaven remains an option for the future, however. Q: Are there escalators and lifts everywhere in the stations?
A: Yes. Moreover, the platforms are on an equal level with the floor of the metro trains, which will make it much easier to get on or off the train, especially for the elderly and for people in a wheelchair. Engineering Q: What will be the average speed of the metro?
A: A metro will run at average speed of 35 km per hour. That is twice as fast as a tram in the city centre, which only reaches an average speed of 16 km per hour. Q: Does anything need to be demolished for the construction of the Noord/Zuidlijn?
A: Thanks to the tunnel-boring technique, the demolition of buildings is not necessary. This is what makes it possible to build a metro beneath the monumental old city without harming it. Moreover, the route follows the existing street plan as much as possible. Only a couple of buildings will need to be replaced for the construction of Ceintuurbaan Station, since the entrances to that station will be located inside rather than on the street. Q: What are diaphragm walls and how are they made?
A: Diaphragm walls are in fact the sidewalls of a station. A diaphragm walls consist of series of panels. A hydraulic shovel digs trenches that are 40-45 metres deep. During the digging, the trench is filled with bentonite slurry, a mixture of water and clay. This mixture prevents the walls from caving in. Afterwards, a rebar cage (a steel reinforcement construction) is lowered into the trench. The trench is then filled with concrete from the bottom up, and the bentonite is pumped out at the same time. This results in a panel of the diaphragm wall. Q: Which kind of train has been selected and can the new metro trains also be used on the existing metro lines?
A: A package of specifications was drawn up for the rolling stock. One of the requirements is that the new metro trains should also be able to run on the existing metro tracks. Q: Why is the caisson method being used in the Damrak?
A: This method is less expensive since it involves less heavy construction. Moreover, the caisson method is less harmful for the ground beneath the city, including for any archaeological treasures it might be hiding. More historical discoveries are expected here at the mouth of the Amstel. Q: What is a caisson and how is a caisson made?
A: Caissons are the large concrete tunnel elements that are joined together to form the metro tube for part of the Noord/Zuidlijn (for example on the bed of the IJ River). The floor of one of these caissons is 2 metres thick, while its sidewalls are approximately 1.2 metres thick and 10 metres high. Caissons are built in such a way that the sides are tapered into a point at the bottom. This is the so-called ‘cutting edge’ that enables the caissons to be ‘sunk’ more easily into place in the ground. Q: How do you steer a tunnel-boring machine?
A: The tunnel-boring machine is steered by means of the jacks that are built into it. With these jacks, the foremost part of the tunnel-boring machine pushes itself off from the concrete tunnel ring that it has already made. Each jack is steered separately. The tunnel-boring machine can turn (bear off to one direction or another) by having some of the jacks push off harder than others. Q: How big is the machine that will be boring the tunnel beneath the city?
A: The tunnel-boring machine is 60 metres long and 7 meters in diameter. It will be advancing an average of 13 metres per 24-hour period. Q: What is bentonite?
A: Bentonite is pure clay in a liquid form that is used as supporting substance during the construction of the diaphragm walls. While the trench is being dug for the diaphragm walls, bentonite is pumped into it to keep the trench from collapsing in on itself. If you would like to know more about the engineering, please click here. Q: What is a girder?
A: A girder is a steel joist that is introduced horizontally into an excavation site to keep the sidewalls apart. Safety Q: Would fixed stairways not be safer than escalators in case of fire?
A: No. The platforms of the three ‘deep’ stations in the city centre are located very far below the surface. The distance in height that needs to be travelled is great, and the direction of escape is – in contrast to what is normal in buildings – from below to above. The combination of these two factors led to the choice of escalators instead of fixed stairways. A study done by TNO showed that escalators are even a little safer than fixed stairways. The escalator gives people the most room precisely at the level of the hips and the shoulders, so that people can escape more easily. Q: Is there a danger of buildings sinking during the construction?
A: To prevent buildings along the route from sinking to the extent that it would be dangerous for the residents, the Noord/Zuidlijn is monitoring all these buildings by means of a special computer-driven monitoring system. Would you like to know more about the monitoring system? Click here. Q: What would happen if a fire breaks out while the metro is running?
A: The distance between the stations is never longer than one kilometre, and the metro will always continue on to the next station (safe haven). Each time before the metro leaves a station, an automatic system checks for possible malfunctions. This means that the time it takes to go from one station to the next will always be too short for a fire to break out. Q: What is being done to make sure that every passenger will feel safe in the stations?
A: A major priority in designing the metro stations has been to create a feeling of safety. The stations will be conveniently laid out so that passengers can easily see where they need to go, and there will be few dark corners if any. Wherever actual daylight cannot be used, transparent materials will allow for visibility and good lighting. Only people in possession of a valid ticket will be allowed inside the swing gates of a station.
Inconvenience
Q: Which building activities will be the most disruptive for those who live and work nearby?
A: We assume that the aboveground construction work for building the stations (removing obstacles, making diaphragm walls and driving piles) and the vibro-driving of sheet piling for the various circular cofferdams will cause the greatest nuisance. Q: What is being done for those who live and work around the building sites of the Noord/Zuidlijn who are inconvenienced by the construction activities?
A: It will not always be possible to prevent inconvenience during the construction. To keep the situation around the building sites liveable, the city has taken a number of measures. These vary from an ‘amenities fund’ that offers people financial compensation in some cases or the installation of (exterior) secondary window frames, to making alternative office space available for those who work at home or washing windows that regular window washers can no longer reach due to the building activities. You can find more information about this in the Dutch folder ‘Overlast door Noord/Zuidlijn. De gemeente doet er iets aan’ [Inconvenienced by the Noord/Zuidlijn? The City Is Doing Something About It], which you can request from the Noord/Zuidlijn Information Point, tel. (020) 470-4070. Q: Whom can I call when I can no longer bear the noise?
A: You can call the Noord/Zuidlijn Information Point with your questions or complaints, 24 hours a day, telephone: (020) 470-4070. Q: What should I do in case of problems with water?
A: Call Waternet, tel. (020) 608-6885. Q: Am I eligible for financial compensation for the inconvenience I am experiencing as a result of the construction of the Noord/Zuidlijn?
A: On 14 October 2004, the Amsterdam city council decided to create an ‘amenities fund’ for financial compensation in connection with the construction activities of the Noord/Zuidlijn. The residents of a number of homes near the building sites on Rokin, Vijzelgracht and Ferdinand Bolstraat are currently receiving such financial compensation. Which addresses are eligible for compensation and the amount of the compensation both depend on the number of decibels measured on the street side of the houses at set times and during actual working hours. Q: What do I have to do to be eligible for (interior) secondary window frames?
A: At this time, (interior) secondary window frames are being placed in a number of houses near the building sites on Rokin, Vijzelgracht and Ferdinand Bolstraat. Which addresses are eligible for these window frames depends on the number of decibels measured on the street side of the houses at set times and during actual working hours. Q: Where can I go with my questions about how to get around in the city during the construction of the Noord/Zuidlijn?
A: You can find up-to-date news (also in English) about road works and traffic diversions on www.toamsterdam.nl.
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