North/South Line underground stations, Amsterdam

The regional North/South underground line is to link Purmerend north of Amsterdam with Schiphol. Phase one, the trajectory between the stations Amsterdam-Noord and Amsterdam-Zuid WTC, requires laying tubes beneath the historic central area of Amsterdam and erecting eight stations, three above ground and five below. The path of the tunnel passes at times beneath the pile foundations of existing buildings. It is for this reason that the tunnels are placed relatively far underground. The shallow station concourse is constructed as a sunk square with a glass awning. Daylight penetrates the reflecting walls and ceilings to a great depth. The station entrances are kept as close together as possible, to avoid having underground tunnels everywhere and to cleanly stitch the new line into the fabric of the city. As for the Central Station area, the new underground line is a major impetus for radically reorganizing this traffic interchange and restructuring the station square.

The new Amsterdam metro North/South Line will have a trajectory between the stations Amsterdam-Noord (North) and Amsterdam-Zuid (South). This requires laying tubes beneath the historic central area of Amsterdam and erecting eight stations; three above ground and five below.

To get enough daylight in the underground areas, as is characteristic for all the underground stations, reflecting walls and ceilings are integrated in the design. Therefore Hunter Douglas created aluminium panels with a high reflective value of 82 percent. In order to improve the acoustics, the ceiling panels are perforated.

The new interchange hall at Amsterdam Central station is one of the first parts of the North/South Line that is already in use. The underground area is accessible via three different entrances at the station square. When the North/South Line itself will be in use, passengers can change in this hall from/to the existing East Line, the new metro line, as well as the train station. The ceiling in the interchange hall consists of uniform, rectangular panels of 180 x 90 cm, that are placed in the running direction. These large panels contribute to overview and uniformity, so the travellers can easily orientate themselves.

More information about XLnt are on the Hunter Douglas website. (see link below)