During the Ascension weekend of 2026, no trains ran to or from Amsterdam Zuid station for five consecutive days – and for good reason. Just west of Amsterdam RAI station, construction consortium Nieuw-Zuid (Mobilis, Boskalis and Van Gelder) temporarily removed all four railway tracks in order to continue building the future Vivaldipassage: the bicycle and pedestrian tunnel that will connect Antonio Vivaldistraat with Beatrixpark.

Construction of the Vivaldipassage begins with the roof, which will eventually sit beneath the railway tracks, metro tracks and motorway. The roof section beneath the railway tracks – a concrete structure measuring approximately 23 by 30 metres and weighing 2.4 million kilos – had already been built several years ago. Since then, it had been waiting on the southern side of the tracks to be moved into position. Last Friday, after the tracks had been removed, we slid the concrete slab approximately 30 metres northwards towards its final location. The abutments for this section of the roof – the foundations on which it rests on either side – had already been constructed during two earlier train-free periods in April. Once the sliding operation was completed, the railway tracks were rebuilt.

The sliding operation did not proceed entirely without complications. The first metres went smoothly, but just before the final three metres, an uneven section in the sliding track was discovered. That may not sound serious, but when moving such an enormous mass, everything has to be perfectly aligned. We therefore decided to lift the roof section in a highly controlled manner using hydraulic jacks, after which part of the sliding track was renewed. The roof section was then moved into its final position without further issues. Although the works experienced some delay, this was more than recovered the following day.

The reason for sliding the roof section beneath the tracks at this moment is closely linked to the complex logistical puzzle in this part of Zuidas. Just west of the Vivaldipassage, the A10 Zuid will eventually disappear underground for a distance of one kilometre. This is where the so-called tunnel entrance will be constructed: the point where the tunnel in the A10 Zuid begins. To create enough space for the construction of the tunnel, the A10 Zuid must first be shifted several metres northwards – precisely to the location where the roof section had been positioned until now. By moving the roof section, space has now been created for the realignment of the motorway.

Excavating and fully completing the Vivaldipassage still relies on many additional works. Additional roof sections are still required beneath the metro tracks and the A10 Zuid. Space is needed to prefabricate these sections, but available space is extremely limited. For construction of the A10 Zuid tunnel on the northern side, the northern carriageway must also be (temporarily) relocated, making the area even more constrained. Once the tunnel has opened, the A10 Zuid will no longer need to be diverted and space will become available again. For this reason, the Vivaldipassage can only be fully completed towards the end of the overall Zuidasdok programme. Completion of the Vivaldipassage is currently scheduled for 2036.