Erasmus Line

Erasmus Line

The Rotterdam Metro is a rapid transit system operated in Rotterdam and surrounding municipalities by RET. The first line, called Noord - Zuidlijn (North - South line) opened in 1968 and ran from Centraal Station to Zuidplein, crossing the river Nieuwe Maas in a tunnel. It was the first metro system to open in the Netherlands. At the time it was also one of the shortest metro lines in the world with a length of only 5.9 kilometers (3.7 mi).

In 1982 a second line was opened, the so-called Oost - Westlijn (East - West line), running between Capelsebrug and Coolhaven stations. In the late 1990s, the lines were named after two historic Rotterdam citizens, the Erasmus Line (North - South) after Desiderius Erasmus and the Caland Line (East - West) after Pieter Caland. As of December 2009, these names were dropped again in favor of a combination of letters and colors, to emphasize and clarify the difference between the several branches of especially the former East West line.

Read more about Erasmus Line:  Lines, Rolling Stock, Future Extensions, Traction Power, Further Reading

Famous quotes containing the words erasmus and/or line:

    What difference is there, do you think, between those in Plato’s cave who can only marvel at the shadows and images of various objects, provided they are content and don’t know what they miss, and the philosopher who has emerged from the cave and sees the real things?
    —Desiderius Erasmus (c. 1466–1536)

    If surrealism ever comes to adopt a particular line of moral conduct, it has only to accept the discipline that Picasso has accepted and will continue to accept.
    André Breton (1896–1966)