Route De Oude Lijn (netherlands:amsterdam - Rotterdam, Through Haarlem, Schiphol, Den Haag)

De Oude Lijn​

Amsterdam - Rotterdam
Through Haarlem/Schiphol, Leiden, Den Haag.
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1.
BASIC INTRODUCTION

Hey everyone!
This here is a suggestion that has long since in the back of my mind, but I've never really had the time and energy to properly develop it to give it the attention it deserves when proposing it.

It's the Dutch "Oude Lijn", reaching from Amsterdam to Rotterdam.
171km long (130km without HSL) and 31 stations.
The route is of historical significance, as it includes the first route to be introduced in the Netherlands back in 1839, between Amsterdam and Haarlem. As well as being one of the most historical, but also bustling routes in the Netherlands today!
Interestingly enough, without HSL, it would still not be as long SEHS
So frankly, while it's definitely pushing the extreme, and the full route would be the longest current in the game, I think it's doable!

This route truly has something to offer for everyone, both from a historical and modern perspective. Embark on a journey that spans the oldest railway line in the Netherlands, beginning in the bustling capital of Amsterdam. The two story station of Amsterdam Sloterdijk, of which both levels are used on this route. Traverse the historic line to Haarlem, where you have the option to take a delightful 8km detour to the seaside town of Zandvoort Aan Zee, offering a shorter and calmer experience.

Continue through the picturesque tulip fields in spring, creating a breathtaking scene in the Bollenstreek between Haarlem and Leiden. Alternatively, embrace a more modern adventure as you travel from one of Europe's busiest airports, Schiphol, through the expansive Schiphol tunnel, passing by the bustling Hoofddorp yard on your way to Leiden.

The route unfolds like a story, taking you from the capital in Amsterdam to the Dutch seat of government in Den Haag, through the academic city of Delft, and concluding in Rotterdam, home to one of the busiest ports in Europe. For those seeking speed and efficiency, there's the option to blaze a trail from Schiphol to Rotterdam through the modern HSL line, riding the fast track from Schiphol to Rotterdam Centraal.


(NS VIRM riding past a tulip field near Hillegom)

2.
ROLLING STOCK

Considering they are the most common train types currently on this route there are 2 trains that take the lead for this route.
Those being NS VIRM and NS SNG.
Additionally for the HSL bit, while I would personally prefer the very new and modern NS ICNG to be included, most realistic would be the TRAXX 186, as this would mean DTG could reuse a lot of the assets of their already existing version of the DB BR 185 and 146, and ICNG would mean DTG would have to make 3 full trains from scratch, instead of 2,5, as well the 186 gives greater flexibility as it would also enable freight services.

Also, while the NS ICM and NS SLT are also two great trains that also appear on this route IRL, they are not as common, and I have already proposed both in my previous Utrecht - Gouda - Rotterdam/Den Haag suggestion, where they are more appropriate options.

NS VIRM (Intercity)
One of the workhorses for the Dutch railways, along with the popular NS ICM.
An EMU type with full length wagons, with variants of either 4 or 6 wagons per unit.


NS SNG (Sprinter / S-Bahn for reference)
A very modern sprinter for stop-and-go commuter services.
An EMU type with halfsized wagons resting on jacobs bogies, appearing in 3 and 4 carriage variants.
Fun fact: initially when introduced in 2018 they had blue front, but after safety concerns for low visibility conditions, this was changed to yellow.


NS Class 186 TRAXX (HSL)
Simple setup of a locomotive pulling the HSL train.
Due to the fact that they are incompatible with the 186 TRAXX locomotive, the old ICR cab cars, when used, are placed specifically on the side of the locomotive, as shown in this picture.


3.
SERVICES

This would be one of the busiest routes in the game right from the start with plenty of services, both intercity and sprinter.
Additionally, this route would have a lot of self contained services as well, which is always a plus as it makes the player feel like they're actually doing the work, when there's a point in starting up and shutting down the cab when you come and leave.
Also, for the purposes of the game, for the timetable, I'm fine with replacing all SLT services with SNG in order to keep volume.

Based on the 2024 timetable, daytime services
Source used: wiki.ovinnederland.nl/wiki/Hoofdpagina (search servicenumber for result)

In order to save words, I'll just provide a screenshot of the timetable schematic I've already made:




4.
SAFETY SYSTEMS / SIGNALLING

ATB
I have already made a quite extensive guide to this as well as Dutch singalling, click here if interested.

ERTMS
The bit between Amsterdam and Rotterdam (HSL) is also equipped with ERTMS.
This is somewhat similar I believe to what is already available to TSW players with the Luzern - Sursee route, which interestingly enough, already looks a lot like a more advanced ATB system anyways.

5.
THE MAP AND OTHER POINTS OF INTEREST



The map has many things to offer for every type of player.

The route features different urban centers with their own personalities, but also some of the most scenic open fields the Netherlands has to offer.
And while the Netherlands may be mostly flat, the scenery in especially this part of the country is appealing nontheless. Helped by the fact that it's so varied, you'll be long enough around the plains of tulips to enjoy the area, but out again before it gets boring and monotonous.

As well this route appeals to both fans of rail history due to its historical significance, and the fact that even in modern times, it definitely still has some of its old charm. But also, especially if you go by the Schiphol path, there's also a lot of modern rail to enjoy.

Frankly the only downside I can think of is that without properly extending the route even longer than it already is, to include the southern loop around Amsterdam to include its yard and a way into the Amsterdam port without having to reverse at Amsterdam Centraal, and without extending Rotterdam till the Kijfhoek freightyard, it'll be difficult to create a true freight experience.
Though that said, freight does drive this route.

Points of interest and other pros to this route are:

• Amsterdam Sloterdijk Station.
  A 2 story station, both of which are used on this route (below for Haarlem, upstairs for Schiphol). This gives the station a lot more personality and avoids it feeling empty and only half used.
  
  
• Train modernization installation Haarlem.
  Where you could see a lots of broken up uncoupled EMU trains, which you wouldn't otherwise see.
  Interesting sights for railfans. Nothing that would be difficult for the game either. Just have half of a VIRM with an locomotive in its back standing on the emplacement.
  
  
• Zandvoort branch.
  Just 8km, while insignificant, it's a quaint little trip to a seaside town you can do for when you're up for a drive, but not to commit to a full drive down route.
  With a small little branchline like this, only 8km and 2 stations, I think it's almost mandetory to put it in as well.
  
  
• Bollenstreek.
  Of course the quintessential spirit of the Netherlands for tourists are the fields of tulips.
  This route drives right past them, which during spring truly makes this route gorgeous, and avoids the monotony of flat landscapes.
  
  
• Trekvaart.
  Along the route from the parts between Amsterdam to Leiden via Haarlem and even on some other select parts, you'll notice there's a canal running right next to the railway for the majority of that part of the route.
  These canals have historically been used for transport using barges.
  
  
• Hoofdddorp emplacement.
  While itself not incredibly imposing, considering it's a pretty important emplacement that's quite far out, this ensures there will probably also be quite a lot of empty stock moves in and out that are longer than just 5 minutes to enter the station.
  This pads the timetable as well, and gives a little bit of variety with what mindset to drive.
  Personally I love nightly empty stock moves and wish they were included in the game.
  
  
• 3 major stations and several large ones.
  The beauty and the variety of this route is that it's not just a crawl between A and B. Even without the branchlines, there are multiple stations that would serve as genuine end points to your journey, making it actually feel like a proper route.
  Of course the drawback to this is that it's hard to model and do them justice, which could scare DTG off making them, as well as considering the route's already extensive length.
  
  
• Tunnels.
  This route has several tunnels which adds to the variety of the route.
  Schiphol, Delft and different parts of the HSL line. Which does save a bit on the modelling requirements for the already very long route.
  
  
• Familiarity.
  All of these destinations are places that international audiences are probably familiar with.
  From arriving at Schiphol, Amerdam Centraal, to the tulip fields and the port of Rotterdam.
  This route truly encapsulates the beauty of the netherlands. Both the urban and the stretched out fields with smaller towns.

6.
FUTURE OPTIONS

Given it already has an overlap of 2 major stations with my previously suggested route of Utrecht - Rotterdam/Den Haag, this could be an amazing opportunity for DTG to eventually start experimenting with true route mergers for players who have both routes.
Also, this would open the door to then also make the local RNET line between leiden and Gouda, and to complete the Amsterdam - Utrecht side of things as well.
Either way, this route truly has some unique options for future expansions, but even on its own, especially when more rolling stock arrives, this route in and of itself already has so much to offer.

7.
CONCLUSIONS

All in all, while obviously slightly biased, I think this route would have the potential to be one of the most complete and well rounded routes in the entire game, with a huge library of different services to choose from.
If given the love it deserves and made in its proposed entirety, this route truly will have you play it different ways, with enough variety on it to keep you busy and entertained every time.
This would truly be a route that you can not have experienced in full after going from A to B and back one single time.

Frankly, while I am well aware of how much this route would be in terms of work to create, given that including the HSL part, it's 171km long, spanning 31 stations, multiple of which very unique and major stations that can't just be made using stock Dutch assets. It would well and truly be the longest and most intensive route in the game.
But I think given the end result, this route would be absolute perfection and well worth the insane effort even for just this route alone.

8.
EXTRA

As thanks, and for some extra enthusiasm, I would like to share some videos about this route.








(Considering this video, luckily DTG doesn't model the toilets anyways, so if you're reading this, Matt, you have my personal permission to skip toilets on these trains for what it's worth )

 

Excellent idea and for DLC ICNG Trains with alt paints ICNG B for Belgium Infrabel ICNG D for Germany.

 

I don't know a lot about Dutch railways, but this looks like an interesting line with some decent variety. I'd go for it.

 

I would absolutely love a Dutch route on TSW. The ChrisTrains add ons for TSC all looked amazing, hopefully he may do some TSW stuff in the future.

 

True, though to be fair, as I did mention in the post. While I would personally prefer the ICNG to appear on this route, I do think the 186 TRAXX is probably more realistic in every way.

1)
It already has the same base hull as the DB BR 146 and 185, which is logical considering it's the exact same family of locomotives.
Those are already in the game, so DTG would have far less work creating these, and would only need to create the ICR coaches, which is a lot easier, but also still quite a task as that could possibly consist of the ICR cab car variant. Though, just like the DB BR 101 and the IC coaches, they could of course just forgo the cab car as it's not functional anymore anyway and runs with a loc on either end.

This is especially the case considering DTG would already have to make the VIRM and SNG from scratch with technology they haven't yet made. So if they were to make this route, they would already be making 2 whole new trains without any prior knowledge or assets.
Adding the ICNG would just be adding a 3rd, when the 186 TRAXX is probably not even half the work considering the assets they already have.

2)
The 186 TRAXX would be adding more variety to the timetable as it's more flexible, considering if they just include the grey livery, it can also serve as a freight train for some services of that variety.
Considering they don't even have to make new freight wagons as we use basically the same ones as the Germans most of the time that are already in the game, at most in a slightly different livery, this would add minimal work for the DTG team, while adding considerably more variety and functionality to the route.

That's not to say the ICNG wouldn't be more than welcome with this route. I just think that this route isn't the best to introduce it into for that reason.
Possibly in a few years as it's currently being phased into different services.
I read it's also planned to take IC services from Rotterdam to Groningen, so it could also eventually down the line also make its appearance on routes like my previously proposed Rotterdam / Den Haag - Utrecht, Carlingamesnl's proposed Amstersfoort - Zwolle line (though I would suggest extending the Amersfoort side of that to be Utrecht - Zwolle), or a Zwolle - Groningen as seen in this Train Sim Class fanmade project that I would also really recommend. Having a lot of fun on this one recently.

 

Stupid question maybe btw, but in case any of the mods are reading this.
Would it be possible to make a slight alteration on the title of this post?

It really bugs me out how I accidently somehow didn't notice "netherlands:amsterdam" not having the space it needed, as well as being uncapitalized.

Sorry about that