Timetables

This page lists all timetables the Simvliet metro network had since the beginning of the network. Not every year a new timetable was made, typically only when the infrastructure changed. During the summer holidays the metro runs a special timetable.

History

Early days

In the early days the Simvliet metro consisted of just four stations. During the rush hour there was a train every 2½ minutes, during the day every 5 minutes and in the early morning and evening every 10 minutes. These frequenties were kept when in 1971 the line was extended to Stadionweg.

When in 1975 the extension to Oostpark was completed the frequency during the day in the centre was increased to 3¾. From Stadionweg one out of two trains would continue to Oostpark, while the other reversed there. During the rush hour that means every 5 minutes a train left from Oostpark, during the peak of the rush hour all trains would continue to Oostpark, creating a 2½ minute interval. This schedule was kept until 1988, although in 1982 with the arrival of the new SG2 trains the 3-car trains were extended to 4-car trains.

De Molens Branch

In 1988 the branch towards De Molens was opened. The population density on this line is lower then on the line to Oostpark, so an interval of 10 minutes was enough for this line, while during the rush hour Oostpark kept a 3/4 minute interval. During the day both the Molens and Oostpark branch would get a 10 minute interval, while the centre kept a 3 minute interval with an supplemental train from Stadionweg to Simvliet Centrum running also every 10 minutes. In the evening both lines would run every 15 minutes with no additional trains to Stadionweg, giving a 7½ minute interval in the centre.

The 21th century

Modern standards resulted in different passenger flows. The old small houses in Oostpark were renovated into more modern apartments, where houses were combined to make them bigger. Also flexible working hours were introduced, combined with the lower population density resulted in rush hour trains that ran every 3 minutes from Oostpark were no longer needed. Instead a 5 minute interval from 7:00 to 9:00 was sufficient for this line now, so the supplemental trains to get the 2½ minute interval in the centre could reverse at Stadionweg the whole time.

Also development of new neighbourhoods was started, but there was little money available to make a new branch. It was decided to make a lightrail connection from Stadionweg towards Springstraat that in the future could be connected to the main metro network. This line was opened in 2006 as separate service, running every 6 minutes during the rush hour.

Upgrade

In 2013 the lightrail line from Springstraat was finally connected to the main line, allowing trains to continue towards Simvliet Centrum. With three branches now Stadionweg finally lost it's status as terminus for some trains from Simvliet Centrum. Instead now it was the other way around, in quiet hours trains from the suburbs would not continue towards Simvliet Centrum but reverse at Stadionweg. During the rush hour initially a shuttle train between Stadionweg and Springstraat was kept in addition to the train from Simvliet Centrum to Springstraat, both running every 10 minutes, later all lines were changed to run at an interval of 6 minutes over the whole line during the rush hour.

The years after saw some small extensions to Araplein and Lelywaard in 2016, after which development for probably the biggest project in the history of Simvliet was started, the extension from Simvliet Centrum towards Simvliet Airport. This was the first section to be build underground and it was opened in 2020. In addition to this new line, the flat crossings at Stadionweg and Tussenvelden where the trains towards Araplein and De Molens cross over the track towards Simvliet Centrum were changed into a dive-under and flyover, respectively, in order to increase the interval and reduce delays.