The plan to extended the Amsterdam metro to Schiphol
2018 delivered 71 million people through Schipol airport, in part due to massive tourism. In 2017 Schipol was one of the busiest airports in Europe, ranking third below the UK and France with 63 million visitors.
With Amsterdam’s international popularity, Schiphol CEO Dick Benschop brought in the new year by declaring the Noord-Zuid line would connect to Schiphol and Hoofddorp.
Efforts to ease the congestion and traffic, and yes people: take the subway from Amsterdam to Schiphol, were “no longer a matter of ‘if’ but ‘when'”, Benschop said.
When will we be able to travel directly with the metro from Amsterdam to Schiphol?
Schiphol intends to expand the public transport network around the airport and is eager to begin. NS, ProRail and the Amsterdam Transport Region are currently devising a plan, Benschop said. In addition to this, their great challenge will be expanding the capacity at the airport to accommodate both metro and international rail links.
Benschop noted that the final decision rested with the politicians in The Hague. He added there would be a fair contribution from his end and theirs, agreed on by both sides.
“A kind of offer you can’t refuse”, he said.
Opposition to Schiphol
Traffic jams weren’t the only drawback inflicted by last year’s booming numbers. The Schiphol contact center for the local community received a massive boost in calls relating to noise pollution. Approximately 11,500 concerned people phoned the community center, an increase of 36% since 2017.
The airport is currently in talks with local residents about the necessary growth of the airport. Benschop is of the mind that more needs to be done to reaffirm the local community’s trust. “We will take measures in the interest of residents”, he said. “With that, I want to break down walls and build bridges. For example between the perception and calculation of noise, between measurements and calculations. We will always actively limit nuisance and invest in livability, in cooperation with our neighboring municipalities”.
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