This summer, we are increasing the height of the track and platform used by metro lines 50 and 51 in the direction of Isolatorweg. We have already done this to the two platforms used by line 52 (the North/South metro line). This will make it possible to significantly raise the height of the station passageway underneath, the Minervapassage. Cameras, advertising consoles, glass-fibre cabling – all of the metro ICT systems will also make the move. In the meantime, the lift has been sent to the factory for a major overhaul.
Lift and escalator
The existing lift will be too low for the raised platform. For this reason, the complete lift shaft has been removed and returned to the workshop to be extended. Having been raised in height, the lift shaft will be hoisted back into position from the A10. The staircase and escalator will not be affected. These are already high enough – you can read more about that in an upcoming article. ‘But the escalator will be out of service for seven weeks’, says Andries Bleijerveld, technical manager for metro-related ICT systems. ‘Despite that, we’ll still let the escalator operate once every week. If we don’t do that, the underlying mechanism can’t kick in and we won’t get it moving again. The steel on/off console above the escalator (green light when the escalator is in use) will need to be temporarily removed. Bleijerveld: ‘On 5 August, we will be moving the new roof for the station passageway into position, just above the handrails of the escalator. But that console is just slightly too high.’
We will push the roof (to the right of the photograph) over the wrapped escalator.
ICT systems
The metro platform will be fully fitted with information and security systems, including surveillance cameras, lighting, digital advertising consoles and screens with the latest passenger information. All of this has been removed in order to make it possible to demolish the metro platform and track. In the passageway below, several public transport gates had to be moved. According to Bleijerveld, all of the equipment, systems and public transport gates will still be there in the new situation, but not necessarily in the same place: ‘We’ve made a careful assessment of where the surveillance cameras should be, to enable them to provide a better picture of the platform, the stairways and passageway.’
‘Train TV’
Some of the cameras enable the driver of the metro to check the doors from inside the cabin as the train is about to depart. This ‘train TV’ system features an antenna located between the tracks that makes wireless contact with the metro train as it enters the station. ‘The antenna is a bit like a miniature railway. It transmits a signal that is then converted into a live image of the platform for the driver’, explains Bleijerveld. ‘It’s a tried-and-trusted system that still works very well.’ So this miniature railway will also be moving.
Glass-fibre cabling
Alongside the northern metro track, there was also some important glass-fibre cabling. This connects all of the station ICT systems to the GVB coordination centre, such as the stainless steel SOS intercom consoles and the surveillance cameras. Bleijerveld: ‘There are network cabinets on both sides of the station where data traffic enters the station: from Amstelveenseweg on one side and Amsterdam RAI station on the other. This ensures that the systems always remain connected by at least one of the two network links – even if the cable gets damaged somewhere.’ These two switch cabinets are connected to all of the metro systems at Amsterdam Zuid station and connected to each other via glass-fibre cabling. ‘But that cabling was right next to the track that we’re demolishing. So we’ve moved it to a place next to the southern metro track – that’s an area where we won’t be working for now.’
Raising platforms for the regeneration of Amsterdam Zuid station
We want to ensure that we have sufficient space for the regeneration of Amsterdam Zuid station: the existing Minervapassage will be made wider and taller, and by 2027 at the latest, the new Brittenpassage will open. So, in 2025, the last metro platform will have its turn, after we previously raised the height of the two North/South metro line platforms. After that, all of the railway metro tracks and platforms will be at the right height for the new station.
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