Where in Zuidas
Amsterdam Zuid station is set to have a second passenger tunnel: the Brittenpassage. This is necessary in order to accommodate the expected growth in the number of passengers: from around 80,000 now to between 250,000 and 300,000 by 2030. This additional passageway is part of the complete regeneration of the station.
The Brittenpassage will have staircases, escalators and lifts to the metro and railway platforms. There will also be more shops and a supervised bicycle park. Cyclists will be able to enter the bicycle park via Parnassusweg before heading to their train or metro via the Brittenpassage. On the northern side of the passageway, there will be a bus station and a tram station on the southern side.
Roof first, then the rest
We are starting by building the roof of the Brittenpassage. It is made up of seven sections. These roof sections will ultimately be located underneath the four railway tracks and the four metro tracks at Amsterdam Zuid station. They will also be underneath the two additional railway tracks that will be added to the station on the southern side. These are necessary because Amsterdam Zuid is set to become the arrival point for international trains. When most of the roof sections are in place, we will continue our building work on the passageway underground, while the trains and metros can continue to run as normal. The Brittenpassage is scheduled to open by 2027 at the latest.
Work sites
We are building the roof sections on two work sites: one along Arnold Schönberglaan on the south of the A10 and one between the metro tracks. Before we are able to insert them into their position underneath the railway or metro tracks, we first need to provide solid foundations. In order to build these foundations, we are regularly digging up the embankment where the A10 Zuid and the railway and metro tracks are located. We are then inserting foundation piles into the ground together with the abutments that will support the roof sections. Digging up the embankment – across a distance of around 100 m – will have repercussions for road, railway and metro traffic.
Progress in construction
Construction work started on the Brittenpassage in 2019. In November of that year, we inserted one gigantic roof section underneath railway tracks 2 and 3. In August 2021, we repeated this process, with a roof section underneath railway track 4 and another underneath a metro track. In 2023, we are placing one large roof section underneath railway track 1 and a future fifth track; and one roof section underneath a future sixth track. We are also building one large roof section that will go underneath two metro tracks. After that, six of the seven roof sections for the Brittenpassage will be in place. That just leaves work to be done underneath the metro track furthest to the north.
Zuidasdok
This work for the Brittenpassage is part of the Zuidasdok project involving the widening and diversion of the A10 Zuid into a tunnel and the complete regeneration of Amsterdam Zuid station. The construction of the second station passageway is a crucial step in the process of increasing the capacity of busy Amsterdam Zuid station. After its renovation, this station will have passenger numbers similar to those at Amsterdam Central.