Editing Maastricht (section)

== Transport ==
[[File:2019 Maastricht, Europaplein (3).jpg|thumb|[[A2 motorway (Netherlands)|A2 motorway]] and Koning Willem-Alexandertunnel]]
[[File:2010.07.20.155053 Bahnhof Maastricht.jpg|thumb|[[Maastricht railway station|Maastricht main railway station]]]]
[[File:20190707 maastricht068a.jpg|thumb|[[Arriva#Netherlands|Arriva]] bus at Boschstraat]]
[[File:Maastricht AachenAirport Terminal.jpg|thumb|[[Maastricht Aachen Airport]]]]

=== By bike ===
Maastricht is bikeable.  People biking are able to cross the river using every bridge in the city. 

=== By car ===
Maastricht is served by the [[A2 motorway (Netherlands)|A2]] and [[A79 motorway (Netherlands)|A79]] motorways. The city can be reached from [[Brussels]] and [[Cologne]] in approximately one hour and from [[Amsterdam]] in about two and a half hours.

The A2 motorway runs through Maastricht in a double-decked tunnel. Before 2016, the A2 motorway ran through the city; heavily congested, it caused air pollution in the urban area. Construction of a two-level tunnel designed to solve these problems started in 2011 and was opened (in stages) by December 2016.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.a2maastricht.nl/page.aspx?id=334|title=A2maastricht.nl - Homepage A2 Maastricht|website=www.a2maastricht.nl|access-date=31 July 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100503054342/http://www.a2maastricht.nl/page.aspx?id=334|archive-date=3 May 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In spite of several large underground car parks, parking in the city centre forms a major problem during weekends and bank holidays because of the large numbers of visitors. Parking fees are deliberately high to encourage visitors to use public transport or [[park and ride]] facilities away from the centre.

=== By train ===
Maastricht is served by three rail operators, all of which call at the main [[Maastricht railway station]] near the centre and two of which call at the smaller [[Maastricht Randwyck railway station|Maastricht Randwyck]], near the business and university district. Only Arriva also calls at [[Maastricht Noord railway station|Maastricht Noord]], which opened in 2013. Intercity trains northwards to [[Amsterdam]], [[Eindhoven]], [[Den Bosch]] and [[Utrecht]] are operated by [[Dutch Railways]]. The line to [[Heerlen]], [[Valkenburg aan de Geul|Valkenburg]] and [[Kerkrade]] is operated by [[Arriva]]. The [[National Railway Company of Belgium]] runs south to [[Liège]] in [[Belgium]]. The westbound railway to [[Hasselt]] (Belgium) closed in 1954. The former railway to [[Aachen]] was closed down in the 1980s. However, Aachen can still be reached via Heerlen.

=== By bus ===
Regular bus lines connect the city centre, outer areas, business districts and railway stations. The regional [[Arriva#Netherlands|Arriva]] bus network extends to most parts of [[South Limburg]] and [[Aachen]] (Germany). Regional buses by [[De Lijn]] connect Maastricht with [[Hasselt]], [[Tongeren]] and [[Maasmechelen]], and one bus connects Maastricht with [[Liège]], operated by [[Société Régionale Wallonne du Transport|TEC]]. Various bus companies such as [[Flixbus]] and [[Eurolines]] provide [[intercity bus service]]s from Maastricht to many European destinations.

=== By air ===
Maastricht is served by the nearby [[Maastricht Aachen Airport]] {{airport codes|MST|EHBK}}, in nearby [[Beek]], and it is informally referred to by that name. The airport is located about {{convert|10|km|0|abbr=off}} north of the city centre. The airport is served by [[Corendon Dutch Airlines]] and [[Ryanair]] which operate scheduled flights to destinations around the Mediterranean, the Canary Islands, North-Africa and also [[London Stansted Airport]] from March 2022. There are also charter flights to [[Lourdes]] which are operated by [[Enter Air]].

=== By boat ===
Maastricht has a river [[port]] (''Beatrixhaven'') and is connected by water with [[Belgium]] and the rest of the Netherlands through the river [[Meuse]], the [[Juliana Canal]], the [[Albert Canal]] and the [[Zuid-Willemsvaart]]. Although there are no regular boat connections to other cities, various organized boat trips for tourists connect Maastricht with Belgium cities such as [[Liège]].

=== Distances to other cities ===
These distances are [[as the crow flies]] and so do not represent actual overland distances.

{{div col|colwidth=20em}}
*{{flagicon|BEL}} [[Liège]]: {{convert|25.5|km|1|abbr=on}} south
*{{flagicon|GER}} [[Aachen]]: {{convert|31.0|km|1|abbr=on}} east
*{{flagicon|NLD}} [[Eindhoven]]: {{convert|66.8|km|1|abbr=on}} north-west
*{{flagicon|GER}} [[Düsseldorf]]: {{convert|86.2|km|1|abbr=on}} north-east
*{{flagicon|GER}} [[Cologne]]: {{convert|89.6|km|1|abbr=on}} east
*{{flagicon|BEL}} [[Brussels]]: {{convert|95.1|km|1|abbr=on}} west
*{{flagicon|BEL}} [[Antwerp]]: {{convert|97.8|km|1|abbr=on}} north-west
*{{flagicon|GER}} [[Bonn]]: {{convert|99.9|km|1|abbr=on}} south-east
*{{flagicon|BEL}} [[Charleroi]]: {{convert|102.1|km|1|abbr=on}} south-west
*{{flagicon|BEL}} [[Mons, Belgium|Mons]]: {{convert|130.8|km|1|abbr=on}} south-west
*{{flagicon|LUX}} [[Luxembourg City]]: {{convert|141.4|km|1|abbr=on}} south
*{{flagicon|BEL}} [[Ghent]]: {{convert|141.5|km|1|abbr=on}} west
*{{flagicon|NLD}} [[Utrecht]]: {{convert|142.4|km|1|abbr=on}} north-west
*{{flagicon|NLD}} [[Rotterdam]]: {{convert|144.5|km|1|abbr=on}} north-west
*{{flagicon|NLD}} [[Amsterdam]]: {{convert|175.1|km|1|abbr=on}} north-west
*{{flagicon|FRA}} [[Lille]]: {{convert|186.3|km|1|abbr=on}} west
*{{flagicon|GER}} [[Frankfurt am Main]]: {{convert|228.8|km|1|abbr=on}} south-east
*{{flagicon|NLD}} [[Groningen]]: {{convert|269.6|km|1|abbr=on}} north
*{{flagicon|FRA}} [[Strasbourg]]: {{convert|288.7|km|1|abbr=on}} south-east
*{{flagicon|FRA}} [[Paris]]: {{convert|325.6|km|1|abbr=on}} south-west
*{{flagicon|GER}} [[Hannover]]: {{convert|325.7|km|1|abbr=on}} north-east
*{{flagicon|GER}} [[Stuttgart]]: {{convert|341.3|km|1|abbr=on}} south-east
*{{flagicon|SWI}} [[Basel]]: {{convert|390.2|km|1|abbr=on}} south-east
*{{flagicon|GBR}} [[London]]: {{convert|411.5|km|1|abbr=on}} north-west
*{{flagicon|SWI}} [[Zürich]]: {{convert|438.7|km|1|abbr=on}} south-east
{{div col end}}