Development of station areas

By developing station areas, we are stimulating the use of public transport and reducing pressure on other infrastructure. The focus in station area development is on urban functions such as living, working, recreation and education. As co-owners of the stations, we are involved in area development projects at Amsterdam Zuidas and at various stations along the Oude Lijn between Dordrecht and Leiden Centraal. NS is also contributing to the major sustainability and housing construction challenges facing the Netherlands by making its own lands available for such projects. The following projects were started in the period 2020–2023:

  • The Cartesius Triangle in Utrecht is being redeveloped into a city district with 2,850 homes. The heritage-listed CAB building serves as the ‘living room’ for this city district and its surroundings (offering some 25,000 m2 of facilities).

  • A project for the Tweede Daalsedijk district in Utrecht includes the construction of 1,000 homes.

Construction at the EKP North site in Den Bosch’s railway zone is expected to start in 2024. A dynamic and creative living, working and learning area will be created here, including the Art Academy and more than 800 homes. This is a collaborative project between the municipality, PostNL, NS Stations and property developer SDK.

Projects in 2025 and beyond

  • The Wagenwerkplaats in Amersfoort is a city district that offers a mix of residential and work functions, cultural venues and events. It is a long and narrow piece of land between the railway and the Soesterkwartier district. The area will see the construction of around 1,100 homes and 8,000 m2 and 38,000 m2 of mixed functions (existing buildings and new construction).

  • NS and the municipality of Zwolle are redeveloping the Zwolle Spoorzone district into a new station area with 1,000 to 1,500 homes and 80,000 m² for offices, education, culture and cafés/restaurants.

  • Nieuwe Kern, a district between Duivendrecht station, the Johan Cruijff Arena, the A2 motorway and Amstel Business Park, is being redeveloped into an area accommodating 5,000 homes, 200,000 m² of office space, a 40,000 m2 hotel, 38,000 m2 of retail, leisure and a large city park.

  • To the east of Laan van NOI in The Hague, NS and the municipalities of The Hague and Voorburg are developing 500–750 homes and 70,000 m² for offices and facilities.

  • NS and the municipality of Beverwijk are developing around 100 homes in the Beverwijk Spoorzone district.

  • For the Fuutlaan project in Eindhoven, initial plans have been made with the municipality to develop 50,000 m2 for homes, offices and facilities.

Building over the tracks

Building over and alongside the tracks near stations helps cities grow while remaining accessible in a sustainable manner. For example, together with the province of North Holland, the municipality of Amsterdam, Vervoerregio Amsterdam and ProRail, we have designed a development strategy for large-scale building projects over the tracks, combined with improvements to Amsterdam Sloterdijk station. On 19 January 2023, we signed a follow-up agreement with the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management to further examine the feasibility of these plans with partners.

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