Editing Utrecht (section)

==Transport==
===Public transport===
Because of its central location, Utrecht is well connected to the rest of the Netherlands and has a well-developed public transport network.

====Heavy rail====
[[File:2015-08 utrecht cs 02.JPG|thumb|Utrecht Centraal railway station. The renovated hall with its warped roof, 2015.]]

[[Utrecht Centraal]] is the main railway station of Utrecht and is the largest in the country. There are regular intercity services to all major Dutch cities, including direct services to [[Schiphol railway station|Schiphol Airport]]. Utrecht Centraal is a station on the [[Rail transport in the Netherlands#Night service|night service]], providing an all-night service to (among others) Schiphol Airport, Amsterdam and Rotterdam, seven days a week. International [[InterCityExpress]] (ICE) services to Germany through [[Arnhem]] call at Utrecht Centraal. Regular local trains to all areas surrounding Utrecht also depart from Utrecht Centraal; and service several smaller stations: [[Utrecht Lunetten railway station|Utrecht Lunetten]]; [[Utrecht Vaartsche Rijn railway station|Utrecht Vaartsche Rijn]]; [[Utrecht Overvecht railway station|Utrecht Overvecht]]; [[Utrecht Leidsche Rijn railway station|Utrecht Leidsche Rijn]]; [[Utrecht Terwijde railway station|Utrecht Terwijde]]; [[Utrecht Zuilen railway station|Utrecht Zuilen]] and [[Vleuten railway station|Vleuten]]. A former station [[Utrecht Maliebaan railway station|Utrecht Maliebaan]] closed in 1939 and has since been converted into the [[Dutch Railway Museum]].

Utrecht is the location of the headquarters of [[Nederlandse Spoorwegen]] (English: ''Dutch Railways''), the largest rail operator in the Netherlands, and [[ProRail]], the state-owned company responsible for the construction and maintenance of the country's rail infrastructure.

====Light rail====
The [[Utrecht sneltram]] is a [[light rail]] system with three routes connecting Utrecht Centraal railway station to the suburbs of [[IJsselstein]] and [[Nieuwegein]] and to the [[Uithof]] district. The sneltram began operations in 1983 and is currently operated under the U-OV brand by the private transport company [[Qbuzz]]. The system has a total length 18.3 km and 54 trainsets. It carried over 9 million riders in 2023.<ref name="TD-2024-06-19">{{cite web |url=https://www.transdev.com/en/press-release/transdev-wins-urban-transportation-contract-in-utrecht-netherlands/ |date=19 June 2024 |title=Transdev wins urban transportation contract in Utrecht (Netherlands) |archive-date=7 November 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241107123218/https://www.transdev.com/en/press-release/transdev-wins-urban-transportation-contract-in-utrecht-netherlands/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Utrecht is the only city among the four largest in the Netherlands (the others being Amsterdam, The Hague, Rotterdam) that awards a public transportation concession by tender. Qbuzz will hold that concession until December 2025 after which [[Transdev]] will take it over until 2035.<ref name="TD-2024-06-19" />

====Bus transport====
Utrecht Centraal railway station also serves local and regional buses at its west side (Centrumzijde) and at its east side (Jaarbuursplein), where both sides have connections to the Utrecht sneltram. Fifty local [[bus]] routes are operated by [[Qbuzz]] under the U-OV brand until December 2025 when Transdev will take over the concession.<ref name="TD-2024-06-19" /> The local bus fleet is one of Europe's cleanest, using only buses compliant with the [[European emission standards#Emission standards for trucks and buses|Euro-VI standard]]<ref name="Thomsen-2024">{{cite web |url=https://www.thomsen-energie.de/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Shell-GTL-Fuel-AVP-ab-2024.pdf |title=Praxiserfahrungen: U-OV fährt sauberer mit Shell GTL Fuel |website=Thomsen Energie |accessdate=2025-02-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250216222807/https://www.thomsen-energie.de/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Shell-GTL-Fuel-AVP-ab-2024.pdf | archive-date=2025-02-16 |url-status=live |lang=de}}</ref> as well as electric buses for inner-city transport. The plan is that all buses be zero-emission by 2028.<ref name="TD-2024-06-19" /> Regional buses from the city are operated by [[Arriva]].

The Utrecht Centraal railway station is also served by the pan-European services of [[Eurolines]]. Furthermore, it acts as departure and arrival place of many coach companies serving holiday resorts in Spain and France—and during winter in [[Austria]] and [[Switzerland]].

===Cycling===
Like most Dutch cities, Utrecht has an extensive network of [[Bicycle path|cycle paths]], making cycling safe and popular. 51% of journeys within the city are by bicycle, more than any other mode of transport.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sutton |first=Mark |date=2017-10-26 |title=Netherlands further builds on cycling's modal share, hitting 51% in Utrecht |url=https://cyclingindustry.news/netherlands-further-builds-on-cyclings-modal-share-hitting-51-in-utrecht/ |access-date=2025-01-31 |website=Cycling Industry News |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Waterstaat |first=Ministerie van Infrastructuur en |date=2017-10-30 |title=Mobiliteitsbeeld en Kerncijfers Mobiliteit - Kennisinstituut voor Mobiliteitsbeleid |url=https://www.kimnet.nl/mobiliteitsbeeld#personenvervoer-article12 |access-date=2025-01-31 |website=www.kimnet.nl |language=nl-NL}}</ref> (Cars, for example, account for 30% of trips).{{Citation needed|date=January 2025}} Bicycles are used by young and old people, and by individuals and families. They are mostly traditional, upright, steel-framed bicycles, with few gears. There are also bucket bikes for carrying cargo such as groceries or small children. Thanks in part to the access provided by bicycles, 100% of the population lives in a [[15-minute city]] and more than 90% can get to the major destination types within 10 minutes.<ref>{{cite journal |title=A composite X-minute city cycling accessibility metric and its role in assessing spatial and socioeconomic inequalities – A case study in Utrecht, the Netherlands |journal=Journal of Urban Mobility |date=December 2023 |doi=10.1016/j.urbmob.2022.100043 |last1=Knap |first1=Elizabeth |last2=Ulak |first2=Mehmet Baran |last3=Geurs |first3=Karst T. |last4=Mulders |first4=Alex |last5=Van Der Drift |first5=Sander |volume=3 |page=100043 |s2cid=255256096 |doi-access=free }}</ref> 

In 2014, the city council decided to build the world's largest [[bicycle parking station]], near the [[Utrecht Centraal railway station|Central Railway Station]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2014/04/utrecht_to_build_worlds_bigges |title=Utrecht to build world's biggest bike park – for 12,500 bikes – DutchNews.nl |work=DutchNews.nl |date=27 April 2014 |access-date=29 March 2015 |archive-date=29 March 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150329220826/http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2014/04/utrecht_to_build_worlds_bigges |url-status=live }}</ref> This three-floor construction cost over €30&nbsp;million and can hold 12,500 bicycles. The bicycle parking station was built in stages, with the first part opening in August 2017, and the final section (after some delay) being opened on 19 August 2019.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://bicycledutch.wordpress.com/2019/08/20/finally-fully-open-utrechts-huge-bicycle-parking-garage/ |title=Finally fully open: Utrecht's huge bicycle parking garage |work=Bicycle Dutch |date=20 August 2019 |access-date=6 February 2023 |archive-date=6 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230206092552/https://bicycledutch.wordpress.com/2019/08/20/finally-fully-open-utrechts-huge-bicycle-parking-garage/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Road transport===
Utrecht is well-connected to the Dutch road network. Two of the most important major roads serve the city of Utrecht: the [[A12 motorway (Netherlands)|A12]] and [[A2 motorway (Netherlands)|A2]] motorways connect [[Amsterdam]], [[Arnhem]], [[The Hague]] and [[Maastricht]], as well as Belgium and Germany. Other major motorways in the area are the [[Almere]]–[[Breda]] [[A27 motorway (Netherlands)|A27]] and the Utrecht–[[Groningen (city)|Groningen]] [[A28 motorway (Netherlands)|A28]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Autosnelwegen.nl |url=http://www.autosnelwegen.nl/ |publisher=Autosnelwegen.nl |access-date=13 April 2011 |archive-date=29 March 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100329095027/http://www.autosnelwegen.nl/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Due to the increasing traffic and the ancient city plan, traffic congestion is a common phenomenon in and around Utrecht, causing elevated levels of [[air pollutant]]s. This has led to a passionate debate in the city about the best way to improve the city's air quality.

===Shipping===
Utrecht has an industrial port located on the [[Amsterdam-Rijnkanaal]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |first=Michael |last=Clarke |url=http://www.britannica.com/eb/topic-21914/Amsterdam-Rhine-Canal |title=Amsterdam-Rhine Canal (canal, the Netherlands) – Britannica Online Encyclopedia |encyclopedia=Britannica.com |access-date=13 April 2011 |archive-date=30 December 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071230141826/http://www.britannica.com/eb/topic-21914/Amsterdam-Rhine-Canal |url-status=live }}</ref> The container terminal has a capacity of 80,000 containers a year. In 2003, the port facilitated the transport of four million tons of cargo; mostly sand, gravel, fertiliser and fodder.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ctu.net/ |title=Container Terminal Utrecht |publisher=Ctu.net |access-date=13 April 2011 |archive-date=6 January 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110106005145/http://www.ctu.net/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Additionally, some tourist boat trips are organised from various places on the Oudegracht; and the city is connected to touristic shipping routes through sluices.<ref>{{cite web |author=Martijn Elsinghorst |url=http://vareninutrecht.nl/index.php?page=lp_rondvaart_utrecht |title=Rondvaart Utrecht |publisher=Vareninutrecht.nl |access-date=13 April 2011 |archive-date=24 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110724171937/http://vareninutrecht.nl/index.php?page=lp_rondvaart_utrecht |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.schuttevaer.com/ |title=50 JAAR REDERIJ |publisher=Schuttevaer |access-date=13 April 2011 |archive-date=19 April 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110419231854/http://www.schuttevaer.com/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.inutrechtuit.nl/leuk_en_doen/lovers_rondvaart.html |title=Lovers Rondvaart – In Utrecht uit – de uitagenda over uitgaan restaurants in Utrecht |publisher=Inutrechtuit.nl |access-date=13 April 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110624031321/http://inutrechtuit.nl/leuk_en_doen/lovers_rondvaart.html |archive-date=24 June 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref>