On July 22nd 2018 the North/Southline will take off. It will be the backbone of public transport in Amsterdam. The new subway line will make it possible to travel from the north to the south of Amsterdam in 16 minutes. It is the largest operation in Amsterdam’s public transport in decades. That is why the municipality of Amsterdam will start an extensive impact study, together with knowledge institutions, the transport region Amsterdam and GVB (public transport company Amsterdam). Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica (CWI) will act as one of the main research partners. Other knowledge institutions involved are VU University, TU Delft, University of Amsterdam, and AMS (A'dam Metropolitan Solutions).
Rob van der Mei (project leader North/Southline at CWI) comments: "We are very excited about contributing to this unique project. The new subway line will have a large impact on the city and region of Amsterdam for sure and this research project will give us insight in the details of what will change. At CWI we will especially use our knowledge on mobility and logistics to predict possible bottlenecks due to the changes in mobility patterns. That way, the municipality can anticipate timely to future mobility problems.”
The CWI Stochastics group will concentrate on investigating the effects of the new line on the overall transport system of Amsterdam. For example the effect on the total number of movements, travel time and traffic congestion. The Intelligent & Autonomous Systems group led by Eric Pauwels will look into the effects on multimodal nodes, for example P&R areas and bike parking facilities near stations. They will also examine whether or not the North/Southline will have an impact on car ownership in the region.
The municipality of Amsterdam regards the start of the North/Southline as a historical expansion of the subway network of Amsterdam. It is a unique opportunity to measure the traffic-related and economical effects of the new subway line. The aim is to give insight in the consequences of the North/Southline for the city and travelers together with scientific institutions like CWI. This will give support when having to make future decisions on extension of public transport. An urgent topic taking the housing issue of Amsterdam into account.
The North/Southline will have great impact on the accessibility of the region and city of Amsterdam. An important research question is how choices of travelers influence the transport flow. But the new subway line will also affect areas other than mobility. It will have an impact on area development, the property market and the development of the labour market. Amsterdam is a living lab in which the research partners can measure what will actually happen.
