Line 52 (Amsterdam Metro)

M52
Overview
Status	Operational
Stations	8
Service
Type	Rapid transit
System	Amsterdam Metro
Operator(s)	GVB
History
Opened	22 July 2018 (2018-07-22)
Technical
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Electrification	750 V DC third rail
Operating speed	70 km/h (43 mph)
Route map Noord Yard Noord Noorderpark Sixhaven turning track Potential future station Tunnel under the IJ Tunnel under the main railway Centraal Station Rokin Vijzelgracht De Pijp Platforms above each other Europaplein A 10 metro 50 51 Station Zuid metro 50 51 A-10 Zuid Yard metro 50 51

Metro line 52, also known as the north–south line, is part of the Amsterdam metro network. The line starts in Amsterdam-Noord (Noord station next to the Buikslotermeerplein), continues under Amsterdam-Centrum to its terminus in Amsterdam Zuid station. It has six intermediate stops: Noorderpark, Centraal Station, Rokin, Vijzelgracht, De Pijp en Europaplein. The line was officially opened on 21 July 2018 by the mayor of Amsterdam, Femke Halsema and was opened to the public on the next day, 22 July 2018.

This was not the first line 52 in Amsterdam. During May 2008 and July 2013, part of line 50 was run as line 52 due to work in the Station Zuid area.

Characteristics

Route

The line is 9.7 km long, of these 7.1 km are underground. The end to end travel time is 15 minutes, and from the Centraal Station to the north terminus 4 minutes and 11 minutes to the south terminus. The line starts above ground in Amsterdam-Noord and passes under the IJ and the Centraal Station. The route continues through a bored tunnel under the Damrak, The Dam, Rokin, Vijzelstraat, Vijzelgracht, Ferdinand Bolstraat and the Scheldestraat. From the Europaplein, the line was constructed using the cut and cover method. The line continues underground past the RAI until coming above ground in the central reservation of the South Ring Road (A10) just before the southerner terminus.

There were plans to combine line 52 and the Amsteltram under line 58, but these were abandoned in 2011.

Metro on the North South line in Noord station on the first day of operation; 22 July 2018. Photo: Erik Swierstra.

Technology

The total length of the bored tunnels is 3.1 km, not including the stations it passes through. The route was chosen so that the TBM would largely follow the street pattern and drill as little as possible directly under buildings. The line uses third rail power, just as the rest of the metro network.

The energy supply, security and other infrastructure of the North South line are controlled from the Sein-Energie en Telecomgebouw (Signal, Energy and Telecom building), also known as the SET building, located in the central reservation of the South Ring Road, west of the RAI metro station.

Only the M5 rolling stock is used on this line (maximum 7 carriages).

Service

From July 2018 the line's frequency was every 6 minutes during rush hour and every 7.5 minutes during the rest of the day. Due to budget cuts in 2021, the number of trains was reduced from 10 per hour to 8. In September 2023 the service was returned to 10 per hour and starting on December 11, 2023, this has been increased to 12 (every 5 minutes) during rush hour.

Future

A number of extension options have been brought up since the line was constructed. These include an extension to Schiphol airport to the south and to Zaandam, Purmerend and Nieuwendam in the north.

Extension to Schiphol

The concept of a Nort-South line running from Amsterdam-Noord through the Centraal Station to Schiphol was explored in the 1968 Stadsspor plan. According to the plan the line would continue from Amsterdam Zuid through Amstelveen, along the Beneluxbaan and finally arriving at the airport. It was decided to start development on the Oostlijn first, as this required shorter tunnels and thus a lower budget. After the Nieuwmarkt riots in 1975, all plans for expanding the metro network were suspended.

When the North South line was eventfully constructed, the initial plan was for it to continue to the airport, but due to budget concerns this was abandoned. In 2015 several relevant parties requested a reconsideration of extending the line to Schiphol. The reasoning was that an increase in public transport capacity to the airport was required. With the metro, several regional trains running between Amsterdam's stations and the airport could be cancelled, making room for more international and long-distance trains.

The extension will not be implemented at least until 2030, as the national government has refused to release funds for this project. While several parties have set aside a billion euros in November 2022, this will not allow for realization without government spending, as the project is projected at 4 billion euros.

Extension to Zaandam and Purmerend

In the Noord-Holland provincial coalition agreement in 2019, GroenLinks, VVD, D66 and PvdA seemed to be in favour of extending the line north to Zaandam and Purmerend. They decided that a feasibility study should be done during the years 2019 - 2023 for this extension.

Zaandam

The extension to Zaandam branches off the unbuilt Sixhaven station and continues through Amsterdam Noord via the Klaprozenweg and Cornelis Douwesweg to reach Hembrugterrein in Zaandam via the IJpolder. This extension will be particularly useful once the large housing area of the planned Haven-Stad have been built. The plan provides for more than then thousand homes in the area.