Meppel–Groningen railway

Meppel–Groningen railway
Overview
Status	Operational
Locale	The Netherlands
Termini	Meppel railway station Groningen railway station
Operation
Opened	1870
Operator(s)	Nederlandse Spoorwegen
Technical
Line length	77 km (48 mi)
No. of tracks	double track
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 ^1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Electrification	1.5 kV DC
Route map Legend Line from Zwolle 0.0 Meppel Line to Leeuwarden 19.8 Hoogeveen 33.7 Beilen 49.3 Assen freight line to Nieuweschans 71.2 Haren Line from Nieuweschans 74.2 Groningen Europapark 76.9 Groningen Line to Leeuwarden to Delfzijl

The Meppel–Groningen railway is an important railway line in the Netherlands running from Meppel to Groningen, passing through Hoogeveen and Assen. The line was opened in 1870. It is also known as the Staatslijn "C".

Stations

The main interchange stations on the Meppel–Groningen railway are:

• Meppel: to Utrecht, Zwolle and Leeuwarden
• Groningen: to Leeuwarden, Delfzijl and Nieuweschans

History

The Westerbork transit camp, where Dutch Jews and others were held before deportation to Nazi concentration camps in the East, had its own branch line from the Meppel–Groningen railway, branching off at the former Hooghalen railway station. In the 1970s, the railway was the scene of two train hijackings by South-Moluccans: in 1975 at Wijster, and in 1977 at De Punt.