Cabinet approves €4 million for Friesland’s first new train station in 35 years

There will be a new train station built in Friesland for the first time in 35 years. The Cabinet will make four million euros available for a new station in the south of Leeuwarden. It is the first new station in the province since the Leeuwarden Camminghaburen in 1991.

The station, which is set to open in 2028, is currently set to be named the Leeuwarden Werpsterhoeke, but this may be changed. It will be connected to the line between Leeuwarden and Heerenveen and is being built to help with the transit for two new housing areas nearby.

A parking area will also be added to the station. Alderman Hein de Haan explains, “People from outside Leeuwarden will also be able to drive to this station to catch trains to Zwolle, Amsterdam, or Groningen. That’s why parking facilities are necessary," he said to Omroep Fryslan.

This will be Leeuwarden’s third train station, which has opened discussions about the possibility of Leeuwarden’s main station being renamed Leeuwarden Central. De Haan comments, “That would be great. It shows we’re growing into a larger, more developed city. A request can be made for it. I understand there would be costs involved, but who knows, Leeuwarden Central does have a nice ring to it.”

There are currently eight cities that have a central station. Eindhoven and Amersfoort were the most recent to have changed the name of their main station in 2019. Amsterdam, Arnhem, Den Haag, Leiden, Rotterdam, and Utrecht are the other cities with a central station.