Amsterdam Centraal railway station

(code: Asd) is the central station of Amsterdam. It is one of the main railway hubs of the Netherlands and is used by 250,000 passengers a day, excluding transferring passengers. It is also the starting point of Amsterdam Metro lines 51, 53, and 54. The station building of Amsterdam Centraal was designed by Pierre Cuypers and A. L. van Gendt, and opened in 1889. It features a roof span of approximately 40 metres fabricated in cast iron by Andrew Handyside of Derby, England. The station is currently under reconstruction due to the construction of the North/South metro line (metro line 52).

is twinned with station in London, United Kingdom—the other terminus of the Dutchflyer rail-ferry service.

History

The building of Amsterdam Centraal is situated on three man-made islands, themselves resting on 8,687 wooden piles which have been driven deep into the muddy and sandy soil. The current location of the station is not the site the city of Amsterdam had originally hoped for; other possibilities included somewhere near the Leidseplein, the Weesperplein, or in the vicinity of the modern-day Sarphatipark. Officials in The Hague, however, felt that the eventual location at the head of the city, along The IJ, was the best location. This was viewed as a highly controversial decision, as it...
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