North/South Line Amsterdam

North/South Line Amsterdam

The North/South line is a line of the Amsterdam Metro runs from Amsterdam North, under the centre of Amsterdam to the South station. By 2020 it is estimated that there will be 121,000 travellers a day. The Crouwel Architects designed the seven Metro stations; two above the ground and five underground. The construction started in 2003 and was officially opened in July 2018.

The metro line is 9.7 kilometres long, of which approximately 7.1 kilometres is underground. When the North/South line was constructed, a tunnel was drilled for the first time in Amsterdam. Designing an underground subway, 25 meters deep, under the damp ground of Amsterdam was a challenger. Thanks to a new design technique developed in the years 90’s, it was possible to create tunnels in the wet and unstable soil, without it having much effect on the city. The advantage of a drilling tunnel is that the aboveground buildings do not have to be demolished. The route has been chosen so that the tunnel boring machines largely follow the existing street pattern and will therefore drill as little as possible under existing buildings.