Central Station Tunnel
For the first time since the Amsterdam Central Station was built in the 1880s there is now a tunnel to pass straight under it. Last Saturday, 21 November 2015, it was finally opened. Building started already in 2011 and the tunnel had been finished long ago, but at the exit cars were still in the way. Only after the riverside car tunnel behind the station was also finished, it was possible to create a safe exit and the tunnel could now be opened, almost two years behind schedule.
The tunnel is only to be used for cycling and walking. It is 110 metres long, 10 metres wide and 3 metres high. It is expected that 15,000 cyclists and 10,000 pedestrians will use the tunnel daily. The division between walking and cycling is very clear. Each mode gets 5 metres of the total width. The brightly lit pedestrian area, clad in Delft blue tiles, is at a slightly higher level than the cycleway. That cycleway is kept dark and a strip of light marks the edge.
