Amsterdam: The new cycle-pedestrian tunnel crosses the station

In recent months, Amsterdam, the European bicycle capital by definition, has inaugurated a new infrastructure dedicated exclusively to cyclists and pedestrians. It is a cycle-pedestrian tunnel crossing the central station, allowing you to easily reach the ferry terminal located right there behind.

The construction activity, started in 2011, has requested a few years of work and several changes to car traffic, but was completed successfully. The tunnel is 110 m long, 10 m wide and 3 m high. The interior space is equally divided between pedestrians and bicycles: on one side the two-way cycle track and on the other, slightly raised, the pedestrian walkway. Well lit and equipped with road markings, going in the tunnel on foot or by bike is very pleasant both to avoid the chaos and to admire the interior wall decorated with white majolica on which stands out the illustration of an eighteenth-century fleet in the stormy sea. It is estimated that about 15,000 cyclists and 10,000 pedestrians will transit the tunnel every day!

A good step forward if you consider that, before the tunnel was made, to reach the ferries it was necessary to walk through the crowded station or take a 3 minute bike ride. Today, this transfer takes less than a minute.