In the picture: construction work on railway platforms above Brittenpassage

After remaining largely out of sight for years, this week saw the new Brittenpassage suddenly rear its head above the platforms at Amsterdam Zuid station. Until 28 January 2025, we are working on a new railway platform for the additional passenger tunnel (and trains will run according to a revised timetable). Part of this involves the construction of enclosures. This is where the stairways/escalators and lifts from the passageway emerge onto the platform.

In the weekend of 18 January 2025, we started demolition work on the (temporary) railway platform. This consisted partly of sheets of wood and a steel substructure that we completely removed. We were then able to install the cables, pipelines and foundations for new overhead portals. These are the structures fitted with overhead wires that will ultimately power the trains.

Immediately after that, the Nieuw-Zuid Construction Consortium (Mobilis, Boskalis and Van Gelder) continued work building the new steel structure for the platform. On top of the steel, we fitted prefab concrete sheets. This is also where we hoisted the steel frames for the enclosures into position. Each enclosure is made up of three sections attached to each other.

On top of the concrete sheets for the platform, we added reinforcement, onto which we then poured concrete. This is because the platform needs to be strong enough not only to support large numbers of passengers, but also the weight of the new platform roofs. At this stage, we also fitted several supports for these new platform roofs. The roofs themselves will be put in place later in 2025.

In the next few days, the focus will be on finishing off the railway platform. This will include the tiling and putting the signage, lighting and public address systems back in place. Finally, just above the Brittenpassage, we will fit sheets of walk-on glass. This will ensure that, when completed, the Brittenpassage will be bathed in natural daylight. The normal railway timetable will resume on 29 January 2025.