Two in every three people in the Netherlands live within 5 kilometres from a railway station

On average, people in the Netherlands lived 5.1 kilometres (km) away from the nearest railway station in 2008. For two in every three residents, the nearest railway station is within a distance of 5 km.

Longest distances in Zeeuws-Vlaanderen

Distances to the nearest railway station vary considerably within the Netherlands. With 3.5 km, residents of the province of North Holland on average live nearest to a railway station. With 17.3 km, people living in the province of Zeeland on average have to travel the largest distance to reach the nearest railway station.

In some neighbourhoods, people have to cover no more than a few hundred metres to reach the station, while in other neighbourhoods, residents have to travel dozens of kilometres. On average, residents of Zeeuws-Vlaanderen live furthest away from a railway station. Many neighbourhoods in the municipality of Sluis are on average nearly 60 km away from the nearest Dutch railway station. Residents of Sluis have to travel through the Westerschelde tunnel to reach the station in the municipality of Goes, but they live only about 10 km away from the railway station of Knokke in Belgium.

Distance to nearest railway station

Large interchange stations on average twice as far away

With 10.5 km, the average distance to the nearest interchange station is more than twice as far as to the nearest railway station. For 23 percent in the population, the nearest railway station is also an important interchange station.

Distance to interchange station

For residents of the residential quarter of Nieuweschans Nieuwbouw in the municipality of Reiderland, the difference between the average distance the nearest railway station and an interchange station is more than 48 km. Nieuweschans station is just around the corner ((1.0 km), but at a considerable distances from the interchange station of Groningen.

Ingeborg Deerenberg, Marijn Zuurmond and Chantal Melser