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The Netherlands is connected to the European high-speed rail network with one dedicated high-speed line, HSL-Zuid, and improved traditional rail. Plans for a second dedicated high-speed line, HSL-Oost, have been cancelled.
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Three high-speed train services have operated in the Netherlands: Thalys, InterCityExpress (ICE), and Fyra (which has been withdrawn). Thalys started operating on the HSL-Zuid on 13 December 2009.
HSL-Zuid
HSL-Zuid (Dutch: Hogesnelheidslijn Zuid, English: High-Speed Line South) is a 125 km (78 mi) high-speed railway line in the Netherlands. Using existing tracks from Amsterdam Centraal to Schiphol Airport, the dedicated high-speed line begins here and continues to Rotterdam Centraal and to the Belgian border. Here, it connects to the HSL 4, terminating at Antwerpen-Centraal. Den Haag Centraal (The Hague) and Breda are connected to the high-speed line by conventional railway lines. Services running at 160 km/h (100 mph) on the HSL-Zuid began on 7 September 2009 between Amsterdam and Rotterdam. From December 2009, Thalys trains from Amsterdam to Brussels and Paris have run on HSL-Zuid. From December 2012 to January 2013 (40 days in total) the Fyra V250 trains ran on HSL-Zuid between Amsterdam and Brussels, only to have service suspended because of the poor quality (and safety risks) of the Italian-made trains.
Stations
The HSL-Zuid serves the following stations:
Between Rotterdam and the Belgian border there is a branch to Breda (from 04-04-2011).
Hanzelijn
Hanzelijn (English: Hanseatic line) is a 50 km (31 mi) high-speed railway line in the Netherlands. It connects Lelystad, capital of the province of Flevoland, with Zwolle, capital of the neighbouring province of Overijssel, and provides a direct rail link between Flevoland and the north-east of the Netherlands. The maximum speed on the line is 200 km/h (124 mph), though no Dutch domestic rolling stock can achieve speeds greater than 160 km/h (99 mph). Only by clearing the line for International trains is the line speed of 200 km/h (124 mph) reached.
HSL-Oost
HSL-Oost (Dutch: Hogesnelheidslijn-Oost, English: High-Speed Line East) is the name of a proposed high-speed line from Amsterdam into Germany via the Dutch cities of Utrecht and Arnhem. The scope of the project has now been reduced, but it is expected that German ICE trains will be able to travel at 200 km/h (124 mph) from Amsterdam to Utrecht in the near future. Currently, ERTMS has been installed on the line, but the soil is soft and needs time to stabilize after the recent expansion works. In 2009, a new feasibility study for the HSL-Oost after the year 2020 was promised by Minister of Transport, Public Works and Water Management Camiel Eurlings.