Railway crossing at Keverdijk
Posted: | Tags: transport train
May 5 is Liberation Day in the Netherlands, commemorating the country’s liberation from the Nazis in 1945. The day proceeds Remembrance Day, which honours those who died during the Second World War. Every five years Liberation Day is a public holiday in the Netherlands, and 2025 is was one of those years. I decided to use the day off and visit Keverdijk, a strip of road that sits on the Nieuwe Keverdijksche Polder, the road features a protected level crossing on the railway arch that connects the Flevolijn to the Gooilijn called the Gooiboog. Joining Almere to Hilversum, the Gooilijn itself also goes through Weesp to Amsterdam. I didn’t have a particular need to go there, other than that I’d been there a few months prior and thought it was a good place to watch and film trains.
The road itself is quite narrow with steep banks. The local news outlet, Weesper Nieuws, has documented a lot of vehicles falling into the ditch. There was an effort in 2014 to place retractable bollards to only permit residents along the road in hopes that it would reduce unnecessary traffic, but this proved difficult. The road was re-paved in parts starting at the end of 2023 and doesn’t look too bad today, although it is still narrow. A sign is posted that warns travellers of the ditches on either side and denies non-residents entry during the middle of work days when the road is most used unless you’re on a bicycle or snorfiets.
The road is easily accessible with a 20-minute bicycle ride from the Weesp train station. I was able to exit the city centre heading east on the N236 and took a left on the roundabout for Fort Uitermeer. It was a nice ride on a separated bicycle path, but if cars zooming past at 80 km/h on the N-road isn’t your jam I don’t blame you. You can also get there by cycling along ’s-Gravelandseweg, this is probably the more scenic route, maybe I’ll use that if I visit next time.
The first time I’d been to the level crossing was on 15 September 2024, and that was to film De Karel’s Mat ‘64 passing by, while waiting for the train to pass I was able to watch various other Sprinters, which was also the case this year. You’ll be able to catch SLT and SNG trains on passenger services from the west of the country, like Amsterdam1, Den Haag or Leiden, transporting passengers via Weesp to the east or northeast,like Hilversum2, Amersfoort and Almere2. This year I was also able to see some Intercity services passing through. These don’t stop at the nearest station, Weesp, like the Sprinters do. Most of the Intercity trains that pass by will be VIRMs or ICMs, and in the new timetable the ICNG goes between Amsersfoort and Breda via Hilversum. In additional the the local trains, you’ll also find the line used for the interactional service to and from Berlin, the ÖBB NightJet that goes to and from Vienna, and the European Sleeper between Czech Republic, Netherlands and Belgium. You will also find an occasional freight train too, there’s a lot to spot!
Even if not for the trains, the area is a good place to cycle through.
Below will be a list of videos I’ve filmed around the crossing. I still have some more to edit and will update the list as the videos get uploaded.