Station closure - Hoek van Holland Haven

[whole diary]

[infoman]

just looking at the info supplied,does the road actually have a cross roads junction with the rail tracks?

[stuving]

just looking at the info supplied,does the road actually have a cross roads junction with the rail tracks?

Yes - what I forgot to mention is that this line is now part of the Rotterdam Metro (RET), and qualifies as light rail. So it's allowed level crossings, usually at the end of a station. It's even called "express tram" in Dutch.

In fact, the project just finished involves not just the closure of the old Haven railway station, but the conversion of the whole line to Metro standards. That means rebuilding the stations to Metro design, adding at least one new one, and that's why the old Haven through platforms were rebuilt (too curved for level boarding). Strictly speaking, a new temporary Metro one was built at Haven, and now that's closed as the two shiny new ones open.

[Incidentally, I'm not 100% sure what voltage the overhead supply is. The Metro uses 750V DC^▸ (Direct Current) third rail in tunnels, and 750V DC overhead on some surface stretches. The OLE^▸ (Overhead Line Equipment, more often "OHLE") on the Hoek line looks like NS 1500V kit, which would make sense if it was originally electrified for docks goods use. I guess the voltage has been dropped to 750V now.]

[johnneyw]

Interesting update, thanks.  The ferry port station I remember well from childhood and early teens. I still recall the thrill of exiting from the terminal building in the early morning into the station to be faced by every platform being filled with long waiting trains bound for destinations known and unknown....and the lighthouse still rotating it's beam as the dawn rose.
Very different now off course but with all the new emphasis on cross European travel being encouraged onto rail and away from air and road, I do hope that there's passive provision left at Hoek Van Holland for the possible return of long distance rail again one day.