Discover the UTRECHT FAST TRAM (Utrechtse Sneltram)

[@everynameistakenyet]

I studied at Utrecht University before the tram line was extended. The buses from Utrecht Centraal to the university campus were a nightmare. They had 18 meter long double articulated buses that could carry 120 passengers (if I remember correctly), but there would be hundreds of students waiting for the same bus at the same time and we would jam ourselves in as much as possible. Also, if the buses took a sharp turn, the back end would extend half a meter over the pavement and sweep away pedestrians. It was insane. I really wish we had the extended tram line back then.

[@LS09God]

Do understand that Nieuwegein and IJsselstein are cities on there own. They both have there city rights and a mayor.

[@jasperjonkers3615]

Nieuwegein doesn't have city rights, but that doesn't really matter as the concept 'city' no longer legally exists in The Netherlands. They are both seperate towns however, that is correct.

[@JasperJanssen]

Having their own governance doesn’t really disqualify them from suburb status. Many American suburbs do as well. Hell, until not *that* long, New York City didn’t exist and Manhattan, queens, Brooklyn, Staten Island, and the Bronx were five separate cities.

[@tuinbuddy3385]

@@jasperjonkers3615 The Hague has no city rights and is officially a village. I think it is something Dutch to make this sort of things difficult? Explain Kingdom of the Netherlands with her different parts, to a foreigner, good luck 😁

[@jasperjonkers3615]

​@@tuinbuddy3385 The kingdom of the Netherlands is indeed a bit complicated. City rights not so much, as the concept "city" or "city rights" no longer exists in Dutch law. Everything is simply a "plaats", from Blesdijke to Den Haag.

[@SLT2609]

@@jasperjonkers3615 Nah, looking at the geography you can just say that Nieuwegein and the Hague are cities. City rights don't really matter anymore nowadays, but that does not mean that all places without city rights aren't cities.

[@Dutchreason]

I live quite near Utrecht Vaartsche Rijn station. Here are a few remarks. The largest station on the Uithof is near the Botanical Gardens. A bit of a tourist destination. Utrecht Vaartsche Rijn station is NOT actually in the center of Utrecht but near its edge. From there you can head towards the Twijnstraat, the oldest shopping street in the Netherlands. From there head towards the Dom (Cathedral tower) along the Oude Gracht (Old Canal) and you'll soon be in the center. 24 Oktober Plein is known for a mass shooting that occurred on the tram near to the station in March of 2019, not for artwork. The central stop in Nieuwegein where the tramline spits is next to a shopping center, however quite a long way away from the old center of Nieuwegein. In IJsselstein you should get off on the Binnenstad station. Its just a short walk from there to the small but beautiful mideaval town. A recommendation for ANY tourist that discovers the Utrecht Tram System. End-of-the-line stations are often terrible as destinations - on trams in the Netherlands.

[@JasperJanssen]

Are you slandering Lelylaan?!

[@dykam]

The video mentioned Vaartse Rijn was at the heart of the city, which I'd argue is correct as far as vicinity to the old city/anything inside the moat. It's almost a longer walk from the Central Station stop.

[@Dutchreason]

​@@JasperJanssenAs far as I can tell Lelylaan is a station in Amsterdam? I'm unfortunately unfamiliar with that station. I'm sure there are grand terminus tramline stations within the Netherlands; thus "often" instead of "always" in my comment 😉

[@Dutchreason]

​@@dykamAnd while it may be semantics I'd argue otherwise. In my opinion Utrecht Centraal is located just outside the city center (I include Hoog Catharijne in the center despite being partially located outside the historic city). I presume you mean 'Singel' by "moat"? So that would be "Binnenstad" (inner city), the area within the former city walls. This includes several quieter residential areas including Wijk C. I would argue that the center of Utrecht is roughly located between the Dom Cathedral and Utrecht Central Station as this is the area where most shops and restaurants are located (almost without interruption). But this IS a matter of semantics, opinion. In your opinion my appartement is just a 5 minute walk from the city center. In mine it's 30 minutes...

[@OssWiX]

The section between the central station and the university has also replaced a bus line commonly known as the 'sardientjeslijn' (sardine line). I've only ever been on it myself outside of rush hour, and it was already packed even though they used double articulated busses. I understand why it was given the nickname.

[@cvbattum]

3:23 These get used every weekend, I live close by. The trams don't run on the weekends and they are stored there.

[@maxnoorda]

P+R Sceince Park is also the stop for the largest sport complex of Utrecht called Olympos. It is right next to the garage

[@mavadelo]

0:50 classic mistake. In Dutch the ij combination is one letter, therefor it is IJselstein and not Ijselstein I have driven on the Vienna trams. They were fun. edit: removed most of my comment as everything is already said by others in their replies.

[@johankorten2797]

Nice video! Some remarks / additional info. The tram parking under the car park of Utrechtscience park is used very often by the trams, especially during the weekend it it packed with trams. WKZ was older, they connected the newer Prinses Maxima hospital with the overpass so they can share certain facilities (including operating theaters and diagnostics rooms), the WKZ is more generic children's care (including the NICU) and the Maxima is the centralized Dutch pediatric oncology center). 24 oktoberplein was where the tram attack was a few years ago (March 18, 2019).

[@captainchaos3667]

How to pick a fight with the Dutch: call their city a "suburb" of a different city. 😂

[@MLWitteman]

I love the fact that you perfectly pronounced most of the names. But Octoberplein was perfectly pronounced in German, instead of Dutch ;)

[@jasperjonkers3615]

Fun fact: the Viennese trams weren't supposed to run as 'spitstrams' or peak hour trams with a skip-stop service. That was a solution for the fact they turned out to be too slow to operate on the regular service. Sadly, they also weren't needed, as quickly after they were introduced, a cut-back line due to construction works combined with the economic crisis meant that the expected growth in passanger numbers didn't occur, in fact they dropped by over a third. So, overall, an enormous waste of money😄 That's another thing the Utrechtse Sneltram is famous for. The section to De Uithof is claimed to have been the most expensive tram line in the world. It needed to be reconstructed several times before it was even opened, and there is about 10 million euro's that's still completely unaccounted for. It was paid to the contractor, but nobody knows why. Except the contractor of course, who claimed that everything was in order.

[@JasperJanssen]

“We have investigated ourselves and we find our books are in order”

[@khulhucthulhu9952]

hey that sounds like the tramway to the Delft University campus, which was supposed to open in 2008 and they're still not running today. I'm sure it'll get there, but damn have they messed up everything there was to mess up at this point...

[@Drago1995]

been on these, even my mom who is not a rail person likes them, shame it's not a more complex network.

[@dbleumink]

Nice video! Though you do mention the impressive length of the trams, you've forgotten to mention this is combined with a relatively high frequency (every 5 minutes in the morning peak, every 7 minutes the remainder of the day). A lot more cost-effective compared to the buses used before on the route to De Uithof, as double articulated buses ran every 2 minutes and still could hardly cope with the number of passengers. Those double articulated buses are still used on the route to De Uithof via the city centre (though a lot of them were lost in a large depot fire and replaced by slightly shorter second hand buses), which probably once will also be replaced by a tram though talks about it have been going on forever. The first expansion will however be trams running on weekends when there is a football match in the Galgenwaard stadium along the line, I believe from October this year already.

[@i.k.8868]

Cost effective? It is never going to pay itself back.

[@Keikdv]

Nice video about the trams in my hometown. Missed (but not that bad): UMC stop in the Science Park. Trams on the outside of the platforms, busses on the inside. At all other stops (including Padualaan) the busses have different stops, behind or before the tramstop. Westraven stop on 20 and 21: serving only a single carpark and nothing else. A shot of the depot between Westraven and Zuilenstein (but a bit hard: line goes from top (bridge over a canal) to down-under a highway so you have only seconds to see it). Stop St Antonius Ziekenhuis used to have an extra spur. Extra trams for people visiting sick people in the hospital. But those extra trams hardly run. Spur has gone since the stops went from high to low. The end of 21 at IJsselstein (2 capital letters at the beginning; IJ in Dutch is "one letter") is at the suburb "Zenderpark". There is a tower, about 366 metres high for telecom and television signals. Around Christmas it becomes the "biggest Christmastree in the world". There is a video about it on KZbin. It is visible from the tram between IJsselstein Zuid en IJsselstein Binnenstad if you are on the right side of the tram. Did you also noticed that the double set only has two 5-car sets, a 5-car and a 7-car set, and never two 7-car sets? And the strange sign on the coupling between 2 sets, warning not to cross it? And that you can not board, right behind the driver as is mostly the case at other types? And that tram 22 to the Science Park does NOT run on Saturdays and Sundays?

[@Dutchreason]

Yes, I have been fooled by the fact I can't take the Tram from Vaartsche Rijn to Utrecht Central Station on the weekend. It's also terrible considering the Utrecht Botanical Gardens are on the Uithof (open on Saturday and Sunday from 10am to 4:30pm). The gardens are Utrecht's only tourist destination outside the center and having them being cut off from the most expensive bit of public transport in town on weekends feels pretty ... Mêh?

[@JasperJanssen]

@@Dutchreasonthey only run when running buses wouldn’t be enough capacity - I guess running mostly empty trams is more expensive than inning a few buses.

[@i.k.8868]

@@JasperJanssen That is why you don't build a tramway to nowhere, costing 500 million euro. Instead the city could have given every new student a free (electric) bike.

[@JasperJanssen]

@@i.k.8868 and that would not have solved the problem. It being empty in the weekends in no way means it’s not needed during the week. There’s plenty of commuter services - bus, rail, and tram - that run like that.

[@i.k.8868]

@@JasperJanssen Compared to the current state of the tramway, I think a 'free (electric) bike'-scheme for students would have been more environmentally friendly, financially sound, and psychologically and physically beneficial. For the tramway to become truly functional, it needs to connect to Zeist.

[@messibeaucoup]

it seems like the video has only been watched by citizens of the area who can’t wait to correct and further educate you in the comments 😂😂 quite interesting though to be honest, I’m living there too and don’t mind to learn a bit more about it 😊

[@TSFTransport]

Yeah, just what I thought. XD Glad you enjoyed the video!

[@renevaanhold]

7:56 In a tram attack in Utrecht on 18 March 2019, four people were killed and six injured in and around a tram in Utrecht. Gökmen Tanis (37) fired a handgun at tram passengers and passers-by on 24 Oktoberplein. He was arrested later that day. On a piece of paper he left behind earlier that day, he wrote that he had committed the attack because, according to him, attempts were being made to kill Muslims and because, in his opinion, attempts were being made to dissuade them from their faith. On 20 March 2020, Tanis was sentenced to life imprisonment. Next to the tramstation is a memorial to remember this tragedy.

[@i.k.8868]

Please don't use the name of terrorists. I don't want to remember the names of these "people", rather their victims.

[@ImKuru]

@@i.k.8868my friend’s dad died in that attack, so I agree with you. I’d rather not remember his name.

[@jsb7975]

Nice video! (the 'sch' at front or at the end of a word is never pronounced as 'sj' or the german sound of 'sch'. So just a plain 's' (In old or middle-Dutch 'sch' has been pronounced as 'sk') So yeah it is "Vaart-se rijn" 🌹

[@HannahFantasia]

Ty for using the term uithof and not gentrified ‘science park’

[@khulhucthulhu9952]

I hate how everything is now a science park... what's wrong with the good old fashioned same of the ground that the campus sits on? it gives character, not a lifeless monotonous blob called science park

[@eeshtarr]

New-uh-ggg-aye-n :p with a double-stress (on 'new' and, slightly less, 'g-aye-n') well, actually the 'ei' is not really 'aye', but there's no English equivalent that comes closer, I think.

[@eeshtarr]

check the audio clip here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nieuwegein

[@flyerholland]

Dude doesnt realize what kind of disaster trip this tram system has been the last couple of years.🤣

[@dgjr01]

It’s one of the worst achievements in public transport ever this line. Well the renovation atleast.

[@mvermeulen26]

It's not so fast. If you travel from Utrecht to IJsselstein it takes almost 45 minutes, when you take the bus on the same route it takes only 20 minutes and is cheaper aswell. Beside of that, the tram is often not riding. There is always something wrong with that tram!

[@martijn3514]

You should know that nearly everyone hates the tram. And its many mistakes

[@i.k.8868]

I'll just post it here as well: This line is considered a failure (financially, technically and logistically) and the the local government wants to replace it with a 4 billion euro metro line. It is already the most expensive tramway in the world (no joke), and the eastern half of it doesn't even operate in the evenings and weekends. It isn't used at all by residents of the city, the western half is exclusively used by people from Nieuwegein, and the eastern half exclusively by commuting students. Never the twain shall meet, though, as it is approximately 15 minutes faster to bike from Nieuwegein to Utrecht University, than it is to take the tram! Outside of rush hour, the trams are usually entirely empty. Going by bike is way more reliable (the line is closed every other week because of maintenance or collisions with cars). Utrecht has one of the worst local public transport networks of any western European city. A Swiss traffic engineer wrote an interesting article about it a few weeks back, and also the work of engineer Wolfgang Spier is notable.

[@jasperjonkers3615]

While the line has some problems, most of what you are saying is simply not true. First of all, the local government has no intention of replacing the tram line with a metro line. It wants to build an *extra* metro line, which would be integrated with the current tram system. It isn't used by all residents of the city, but no single transport line does😂. You claim the western section is used 'exclusively' by people from Nieuwegein. In fact, the most recent available data says (not counting Utrecht Central Station): 14% from IJsselstein, 42% from Nieuwegein and also 42% from within the city of Utrecht. And while students are a significant part of the target audience of the eastern section, it also serves two major hospitals, all the staff working at the university and colleges, the roughly 7500 people living around the Science Park, Rijnsweerd and Galgenwaard, and the many destinations around Vaartsche Rijn. That the trams are empty outside of rush hours is simply false. And while the tram was built for many purposes, providing a fast connection between Nieuwegein and Science Park was never one of them. Buses 31, 34 and 202 are meant for that, and they are as fast or often faster than cycling. And I don't really see the problem here anyways. Yes: Utrecht is a great city for cycling, it's very convenient and the most environmentally friendly option. Why is that a problem? As for the last argument, the Swiss article you referred to only mentioned the words 'public tranport' twice, not stating as you claim that Utrecht has one of the worst local public transport networks of any western European city, but only that it is weaker than those in Switzerland. But Switzerland has a shit load of money, many hills and few bicycles, which explains why their cities have exceptionally good public transport. I don't get what point you are trying to make by invoking Wolfgang Spier, who didn't want any new rail infrastructure to be built at all, which according to the metrics from the Swiss article would have made Utrechts transport system weaker, not stronger. Not to mention the fact that in his latest article on the matter, in 2019, he was wrong on about every fact he claimed to invoke. There are genuine criticisms to be made of Utrechts tram network, of course, and I've made them myself frequently. But your populist 'everything-is-terrible' attitude simply does not align with reality.

[@i.k.8868]

​@@jasperjonkers3615 I'm sorry but you are mistaken about many things you wrote. The municipal government actually does want to tear out the western section of the tramway running through the city, and replace it with a metro. I said it isn't used at all by residents of the city, not that 'not all residents use it'. That would make no sense. Yes, it is an exaggeration, but the fact is that only a tiny minority of the residents of the city use the tramway (please don't call it a system, it not a system in any way). Maybe 1-2% of the population.. Most of those tram commuters should be cycling anyway. I never said that cycling is a bad thing. I don't own a car, do everything by bike, inline skates and trains. And why do you think Spier last published on the topic in 2019? He published every few months on the topic, right up to last year.

[@jasperjonkers3615]

@@i.k.8868 it wants to add a metro running through a different part of the cities. It is looking at what would be the best way to keep the western section of tram running as well. Options include continuing to run trams on the city section only, or extending the city section to Papendorp, for instance. As for the passenger numbers, it's usership for a transport line is quite high. About 1,5% of the population of the city daily is absolutely correct (on the western section), but when you look at the part of the city the western section actually serves (Kanaleneiland, Transwijk and southern Oog in Al), it's about 20%. Particularly given that, unlike mr. Spier claims, there are still plenty of buses running there as well (more than ever, even). The good old 7 of course, the 4, 5 and 14 in the North, there's bus 10, and about twenty buses an hour on the central HOV corridor. As for mr. Spier, I couldn't find any published article on the tram in Utrecht since 2019, I could find them on other urban rail topics. But in his last article I could find on this tram, he claimed that to make way for it, many other 'tangential' bus lines were withdrawn. Yes, some lines (like the 242 and 281) disappeared, but some new ones (like the 272 and 298) were introduced. In total, the number of 'supporting' buses at Science Park simply has not decreased from the 12s-era to the tram-era.

[@i.k.8868]

@@jasperjonkers3615 How much traffic do you think we could have saved with a scheme like; "A free bike for every student". Say, every freshly enrolled student gets a free bike, with free maintenance for the first two years. Students enrolling, living within a radius of 10-30km get a free electric assisted bike. Also international students likewise get a free bike. This would cost so much less than the 500 million the eastern section of the tramway did in fact cost, and it would be more psychologically and physically beneficial, as well as being better for the environment. Do you really think there is any need for a metro from the Neude to the new neighborhood Merwede, which is estimated to cost 1 to 4 billion euros? When you can bike the same distance in 5 minutes? Instead we could be investing that money in quality mobility solutions for elderly and disabled residents.

[@jasperjonkers3615]

Do I really think there is need for a metro to Merwede? No, I don't. The real reason it is being considered has not only Merwede but also Rijnenburg, but there is a lot of very complicated politics going on, as a result of which that is not officially part of the plan (yet). Your proposal isn't really feasible when looking at the data. * 15,000 new students a year * Given available data; about 5,000 would get the electric bicycle. A cheap electric bicycle is 750, times 5,000 means 3,75 million a year * The other 10,000 students would get a regular bike, cheapest models at around 250, times 10,000 means 2,5 million a year * The 5,000 MBO students would probably also get one in light of recent political development, that's another 1,25 million a year So that's over 7,5 million simply for the students. Besides the enormous trouble the distinction between getting an electric bike or not, and the obviously very large problem with bicycle theft (many students have their first one stolen within months), that's a lot of money considering you are only helping part of the users of the tram, which with an expected life expectancy of about 40 years clocks in around 12,5 million investment costs a year. The tram is also used by the 30,000 people working on Science Park, plus people working around the Galgenwaard and Vaartsche Rijn area's, also considerable amounts, the around 7,500 people living around the eastern section and of course those visiting the Science Park for work, study etc. Add into that that the capacity of the cycling network will also have to see extreme expansions. The world's largest bicycle parking garage is at Utrecht Central Station, fits 12,500 bikes and adding that still wouldn't be enough at Utrecht Science Park. The cycling infrastructure in terms of roads would also be in big trouble at this huge increase. Contrary to what some may believe, trams are more space-efficient than bikes, and there are already cycling traffic jams on routes to Science Park right now. And besides all that: expecting all those people within 10 to 30 kms to add 2, 3, 4 hours of cycling each day isn't really fair and realistic.