Alkmaar railway station

Alkmaar railway station serves the town of Alkmaar, Netherlands. It is located approximately 40 km northwest of Amsterdam. The station opened on 20 December 1865 and is located on the Den Helder–Amsterdam railway. The train services are operated by Nederlandse Spoorwegen and it is an Intercity station, where all trains stop.

History
Alkmaar Station opened on 20 December 1865 when the railway opened between Alkmaar and Den Helder. This was the second railway opened by the Hollandsche IJzeren Spoorweg-Maatschappij after the Amsterdam–Rotterdam railway. The line through Alkmaar was on the Staatslijn K railway, built by the Dutch state between 1865 and 1878.

The station building is a standard station building of the State Railways of the 1860s and was designed by Karel Hendrik van Brederode. The three other remaining station buildings of this style are in Harlingen, Leeuwarden and Winschoten. The station building of Alkmaar was expanded in 1879 and in 1908, by which time the entire building had two floors. A small extension was made on the south side of the station, making it asymmetrical. Following the middle part of the building was expanded forwards. In 1929, the north side of the station building was extended. In the 1960s, the station entrance was altered, the hall of the station gained a glass front.

The railway line from Amsterdam to Alkmaar was electrified in 1931. The line to Den Helder was electrified in 1958 and the line to Hoorn in 1974. Behind the platforms are 7 sidings, where trains are stabled between peak hours and at night.

Between 2014 and 2016, the north side of the station area was altered significantly. A new bridge has been built over the tracks which will connect the Bergerhof area and the station better. The tunnel under the platforms was closed as a result.

Train services
The station is served by the following services:


 * 2x per hour Intercity services (Schagen -) Alkmaar - Amsterdam - Utrecht - Eindhoven - Maastricht (not after 20:00 or on Sundays, operates to Schagen during peak hours)
 * 2x per hour Intercity services Den Helder - Amsterdam - Utrecht - Arnhem - Nijmegen
 * 2x per hour Intercity services Alkmaar - Haarlem (only on weekdays peak hours in the peak direction)
 * 2x per hour Local services (Sprinter) Hoorn - Alkmaar - Uitgeest - Haarlem - Amsterdam

A night Sprinter service operates on the route between Amsterdam – Uitgeest – Alkmaar – Den Helder.

Bus services
There is a bus station at the front of the station where the following bus services regularly depart from. All bus services are operated by Connexxion, except 350 and 351 which is operated by Arriva.


 * 1 – Station - Centre - MCA Hospital - De Hoef - Station
 * 2 – Daalmeer - De Mare - Station - MCA Hospital - Overdie
 * 3 – Daalmeer - De Mare - Noord Station - Station
 * 4 – Daalmeer - Koedijk - De Mare - Vroonermeer - Noord Station - Station - Centre - MCA Hospital - Overdie
 * 5 – Station - De Hoef/Van Goghlaan - MCA Hospital - Centre - Station
 * 6 – (Bergen aan Zee -) Bergen - Alkmaar INHolland University - Station - Heerhugowaard Reigersdaal
 * 8 – Station - Noord Station - Beverkoog
 * 9 – Station - Oudorp - St.Pancras - Langedijk - Scharwoude - Oudkarspel
 * 123 – Alkmaar - Oudorp - West-Grafdijk - De Rijp
 * 129 – Alkmaar - Stompetoren - Schermerhorn - Noordbeemster - Middenbeemster - Purmerend
 * 150 – Alkmaar - Heerhugowaard - Nieuwe Niedorp - Schagen
 * 151 – Alkmaar - Koedijk - Groet - Petten - Julianadorp
 * 157 – Alkmaar - Koedijk - Schoorldam - Warmenhuizen - Tuitjenhorn - Kalverdijk - Dirkshorn - Schagen
 * 160 – Alkmaar - Heerhugowaard
 * 163 – Alkmaar - MCA Hospital - Akersloot – Uitgeest
 * 165 – Alkmaar - Egmond aan Zee
 * 167 – Alkmaar Station - MCA Hospital - Castricum - (Beverwijk)
 * 350 – Alkmaar - Heerhugowaard - Wieringenwerf - Den Oever - Afsluitdijk - Bolsward - Leeuwarden
 * 351 - Alkmaar - Harlingen
 * N60 – Alkmaar - Heerhugowaard Weekend Night bus
 * N69 – Alkmaar - Amsterdam Saturday Night bus