Den Haag Centraal railway station

Den Haag Centraal
Den Haag Centraal, exterior
General information
Location	Koningin Julianaplein 10 The Hague, South Holland Netherlands
Coordinates	52°4′54″N 4°19′45″E
Operated by	Nederlandse Spoorwegen
Line(s)	Gouda–Den Haag railway
Platforms	10
Other information
Station code	Gvc
History
Opened	28 May 1976
Services Preceding station Nederlandse Spoorwegen Following station Terminus NS Intercity 700 Leiden Centraal towards Groningen NS Intercity 1100 Den Haag Hollands Spoor towards Eindhoven Centraal NS Intercity 1700 Gouda towards Enschede NS Intercity 1800 Leiden Centraal towards Leeuwarden NS Intercity 2000 Gouda towards Utrecht Centraal NS Intercity 2100 Leiden Centraal towards Amsterdam Centraal NS Intercity 11700 Gouda towards Amersfoort Schothorst NS Sprinter 4600 Den Haag Laan van NOI towards Almere Oostvaarders NS Sprinter 5000 Den Haag Hollands Spoor towards Dordrecht NS Sprinter 5100 Den Haag Hollands Spoor towards Roosendaal NS Sprinter 6300 Den Haag Laan van NOI towards Haarlem NS Sprinter 6800 Voorburg towards Gouda Goverwelle NS Sprinter 6900 Voorburg towards Utrecht Centraal
Location
Den Haag Centraal Location within Southwest Randstad Den Haag Centraal Den Haag Centraal (Netherlands)

Den Haag Centraal (Dutch pronunciation: [dɛn ˌɦaːx sɛnˈtraːl]; English: "The Hague Central") is the largest railway station in the city of The Hague in South Holland, Netherlands, and with twelve tracks, the largest terminal station in the Netherlands. The railway station opened in 1973, next to the old station, Den Haag Staatsspoor, which was demolished. It is the western terminus of the Gouda–Den Haag railway.

History

Staatsspoor in the early 20th century

Staatsspoor in 1972, with the new Centraal Station under construction in the background

The oldest station in The Hague is Den Haag Hollands Spoor, opened in 1843 by the Hollandsche IJzeren Spoorweg-Maatschappij when the railway between Amsterdam and Leiden was extended to The Hague and Rotterdam. This station was some distance from the city centre, just across what was then the municipal boundary of Rijswijk. In 1870, the Nederlandsche Rhijnspoorweg-Maatschappij (NRS) opened a second station in The Hague closer to the city centre. This station, Den Haag Rijnspoor, would service eastbound trains to Gouda and Utrecht. When the NRS was nationalised in 1890, this Gouda–Den Haag railway became the property of the Maatschappij tot Exploitatie van Staatsspoorwegen, and the station was renamed Den Haag Staatsspoor.