Nijkerk–Ede-Wageningen railway

Nijkerk–Ede-Wageningen railway
Overview
StatusOperational
LocaleThe Netherlands
Termini
Service
Operator(s)1902-2006 Nederlandse Spoorwegen since 2006: Connexxion
History
Opened1902-1903
Technical
Line length30 km (19 mi)
Number of trackssingle track
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8+12 in) standard gauge
Electrification1.5 kV DC
Route map

Line from Amersfoort
0.0
Nijkerk
Line to Zwolle
Driedorp
Appel
Dusschoten
Voorthuizen
Line from Amersfoort
Line to Apeldoorn
Barneveld-Kruispunt
12.2
Barneveld Noord
14.7
Barneveld Centrum
21.9
Lunteren
27.7
Ede Centrum
Line from Utrecht
29.6
Ede-Wageningen
Line to Arnhem

The Nijkerk–Ede-Wageningen railway is a railway line in the Netherlands currently running from Barneveld to Ede-Wageningen. The part between Nijkerk and Barneveld has been demolished. It was previously nicknamed the Kippenlijn ("chicken line") in Dutch, but since 2006, it's nicknamed Valleilijn ("valley line") by its operator (Connexxion).

The line

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The Valleilijn is a single track line with passing loops at Barneveld Centrum and Lunteren. It runs through the valley where there are many chicken farms and was therefore originally called the Kippenlijn until a project was launched on 10 December 2006.

The line has interchanges with other railway services at Amersfoort and Ede-Wageningen.

History

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The line opened on 1 May 1902 as the Kippenlijn from Nijkerk to Ede. The line between Nijkerk and Barneveld Noord closed in 1937 and the whole line was shut on 7 September 1944 because of World War II.

The line re-opened on 20 May 1951 and was electrified for that date as well. The line operates as the Oosterspoorweg between Amersfoort and the Barneveld Noord junction. From there the line is 17 km long and takes 20 minutes to operate from Barneveld Noord to Ede-Wageningen.

Stations

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The following stations are on or serviced by the Valleilijn (Hoevelaken is technically situated on the Oosterspoorweg), including some possible interchanges:

Station Interchanges Notes
Amersfoort Centraal Zwolle, Apeldoorn, Deventer, Utrecht, Hilversum, Amsterdam, Gouda, The Hague and Rotterdam Previously known as Amersfoort (1902–2019).
Hoevelaken Previously, Hoevelaken had a station on the Utrecht – Zwolle railway line from 1905 to 1938.[1]
Barneveld Noord P&R Site, signposted off the A1 (Transferium). Previously known as Barneveld-Voorthuizen (1937–1981).
Barneveld Centrum Previously known as Barneveld Dorp (1902–1981).
Barneveld Zuid Newest station on the line; opened on 2 February 2015.
Lunteren
Ede Centrum Previously known as Ede Dorp (1902–1951).
Ede-Wageningen Utrecht and Arnhem Previously known as Ede (1845–1938).

Previous stations

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Driedorp, Appel, Dusschoten, Voorthuizen, Barneveld Kruispunt, Meulunteren, Doesburgerbuurt, Stompekamp and Ede Gemeentehuis.

2006 Service improvements

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Before 10 December 2006, the line was operated by Nederlandse Spoorwegen but on that date, Connexxion took over the service and made a lot of improvements.

Train

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5 new Protos train sets were placed into service, to improve comfort on the line. 2 Stadler FLIRT 3 train sets were also put into service in 2018.

Buses

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From 10 December 2006 Syntus, also relaunched the bus service 88 (Ede – Wageningen). A fleet of brand new buses were placed into service in the same Valleilijn livery. This service operates up to every 10 minutes.

Passengers can connect with the train from/to Amersfoort.

From 10 December 2020 introduced a new name rrreis instead of the "Valleilijn" brand.

From 12 December 2022 transdev took over the rrreis bus services due to the company being accused of fraudulent activities. Due to low state funding most of these buses are old bravo, r-net & connexxion buses.

Line Route Material Frequency
303 Wageningen Via Campus C2 Capacity 4x per hour (Peak 6)

Train services

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Series Train Type Route Material Frequency
31300 RS 34 Connexxion Stoptrein AmersfoortBarneveld NoordBarneveld CentrumBarneveld ZuidLunterenEde CentrumEde-Wageningen Protos, Flirt-3 2x per hour
31400 RS 34 Connexxion Stoptrein AmersfoortBarneveld NoordBarneveld CentrumBarneveld Zuid Protos, Flirt-3 2x per hour (Mo-Fri until 8 pm, Sa until 5 pm, does not run on Sundays and on holidays)
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References

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  1. ^ "Archived copy". stationsweb.nl. Archived from the original on 15 January 2021. Retrieved 22 May 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)