Maastricht railway station

Maastricht
Location	Netherlands
Coordinates	50°51′00″N 5°42′19″E / 50.85000°N 5.70528°E / 50.85000; 5.70528Coordinates: 50°51′00″N 5°42′19″E / 50.85000°N 5.70528°E / 50.85000; 5.70528
Line(s)	Maastricht–Venlo railway Maastricht–Aachen railway Liège–Maastricht railway
History
Opened	1853
Services
Preceding station   Nederlandse Spoorwegen   Following station Sittard toward Schagen NS Intercity 800 2x/hour; Weekdays rush hours only Terminus Sittard toward Alkmaar NS Intercity 800 2x/hour; Not on weekdays rush hours, evenings and Sundays Sittard toward Amsterdam Centraal NS Intercity 800 2x/hour; Evenings and Sundays only Arriva Maastricht Randwyck Terminus Sneltrein 32100 2x/hour; Not on late evenings and Sunday mornings Meerssen toward Heerlen Stoptrein 32000 2x/hour Maastricht Noord toward Heerlen Bunde toward Roermond Stoptrein 32400 2x/hour Maastricht Randwyck Terminus NMBS Maastricht Randwyck toward Hasselt IC 13 weekdays 1x/hour Terminus Maastricht Randwyck toward Liège-Guillemins IC 13 weekends 1x/hour
Location
Maastricht Location within the Netherlands

Maastricht is a railway station located in Maastricht, Netherlands. It is the main railway station in Limburg's capital. It is the southern terminus of the Alkmaar — Maastricht intercity service. Additionally, Arriva and the Belgian NMBS serve the station with local trains.

The station was opened on 23 October 1853, when the international Maastricht-Aachen railway was opened. In 1856, a railway connection with Hasselt was opened. Both lines are now closed. In 1861, the Liège-Maastricht railway connection was opened. It was not before the opening of the Maastricht–Venlo railway, in 1865, that domestic destinations outside of the region could be reached from Maastricht.

Due to the fortified character of the town, the first railway station was in fact situated outside of Maastricht, on grounds of the municipality of Meerssen. The first station was built out of wood, so that in case of enemy attack, the station could quickly be demolished. It was not before 1907 that the municipality borders were adjusted and the station became part of the municipality of Maastricht. The current, brick building was built in 1913, designed by George Willem van Heukelom. Inside the station was room for border customs, as international trains arrived in Maastricht. Still, once per hour a train from Liège arrives in Maastricht, but as Belgium and The Netherlands are both in the Schengen zone, there are no passport and security checks present in Maastricht any longer. The space is now used for small shops, such as a flower boutique, Albert Heijn, HEMA and some snack stores.

There are plans for reopening the railway connection to Hasselt, as a tramway connection. Twice an hour, a tram should run from Maastricht station through the center to the nearby town of Lanaken, and further as a light rail train to Bilzen and Hasselt. According to plan, passengers should be able to travel by tram in 2018.