Amsterdam takes the title of longest escalator in Netherlands

Amsterdam has the longest escalator in the Netherlands as of Tuesday. The 47-meter escalator was put in place in the newly-built Vijzelgracht metro station on Tuesday morning. The previous record for longest escalator in the country was the escalator leading to the Rotterdam Maas tunnel, with a length of 43 meters. "It is a pure coincidence that our escalator is longer. It was not our goal to surpass Rotterdam, but it is not a surprise," laughed Amsterdam city representative Michiel Jonker. "Our station is, in fact, very deep," he said. The station is located 26 meters underground and the stairs bridge a distance of 19.57 meters. Vijzelgracht station is part of the long overdue North - South metro line. The construction is ongoing, and the metro line is set to open in the fall of 2017. The metro line was supposed to open in 2011, but setbacks and planning changes shifted the date back by six years. The original price tag was expected to total less than 1.5 billion euros, with the city on the hook for about 300 million. The cost has since skyrocketed well above three billion euros, with Amsterdam owing around 900 million.