Oh is that so! This is why Zoetermeer does not have a Central Station –

If you go through the Netherlands by train, you will come across a Central Station against, such as Amersfoort, Utrecht or Amsterdam. But not every city has a Central Station. Not even Zoetermeer. What’s up with that?

Central Station is an honorary title that the ProRail Station Names Committee may give to a station. In total there are only eight Dutch stations that bear this title. So there are many more cities without a Central Station than with one. These are Amsterdam Central, Utrecht Central, Rotterdam Central, The Hague Central, Leiden Central, Arnhem Central, Amersfoort Central and Eindhoven Central.

Conditions Central Station

Stations must meet a number of conditions to earn the Central Station title. For example, according to ProRail, the rule is that a place must have at least 100,000 inhabitants. At least 40,000 travelers must also use the station per day and there must be at least two other stations in that location.

Zoetermeer partly meets these conditions. We have more than 100,000 inhabitants and there are three train stations. We just don’t get the number of train passengers.

New name also costs money

Then there is one last condition. Renaming a station costs a lot of money. For example, all station signs must be replaced and the name must be changed in all systems. These costs are estimated at EUR 100,000 to EUR 150,000 per station. The municipality where the station is located must be prepared to bear part of those costs for the renaming. A big expense!