How do you define a city? Is it a bustling downtown, or is it the surrounding suburbs? Is it where the buildings start, and farmland ends? The Netherlands are challenging every conventional notion of urban life. It’s a place that’s redefining the city itself.
You might know it for its bikes, its world-class bike paths, or perhaps a YouTuber that tells you it’s Not Just Bikes. But the Netherlands is home to Europe’s busiest railway network, carrying 17 billion passengers per year across 6,000 kilometres of track. The Dutch railways are an essential lifeline connecting every corner of this country. Instead of allowing urban sprawl to consume farmland and green spaces, they’ve created something extraordinary: a megacity connected by rail.
This is The Randstad—where a city isn’t just defined by land, but by proximity.
How did car-centric development change Dutch cities?
After the Second World War, Dutch cities went through a period of extreme renewal and growth. The automobile was seen as a symbol of freedom and was considered the enabler of that growth.
Countless low-density developments sprawled further and further away from the central cities. Old canals and historic city centres were turned into highways and car parking. It was seen as a golden age of endless prosperity.
However, building for cars came with severe consequences that wreaked havoc on cities. Entire neighbourhoods were destroyed to make way for automobiles, while inner cities became clogged with crippling traffic. Worst of all, car-centric development consumed precious land—land that could have been used for farms, apartments, parks, and offices. And in a small, densely populated country like the Netherlands, that land is incredibly scarce.
How did the Netherlands turn four cities into one?
Dutch planners knew they needed a new approach—one that preserved farmland while still allowing cities to grow. They turned to an idea first proposed by English urban planner Ebenezer Howard: the Garden City.
The concept was simple: instead of one massive city, create a network of smaller cities, each surrounded by green space but connected by fast transport. It was the perfect solution for the Netherlands, where four major cities sit in close proximity:
- Amsterdam – The Cultural Hub
- Utrecht – The Transport Hub
- Rotterdam – The Port City
- The Hague – The Centre of Business and Governance
Individually, these cities feel like small towns, with none having a population over a million. But together, they form an economic powerhouse rivalling cities like London or Paris. By integrating these cities into a single urban system, they created The Randstad—a polycentric metropolis where proximity isn’t measured in distance, but in time.
How did the Netherlands revive its Railways?
Decades of car-centric development had left the railways in a state of decay. As lines closed and ridership declined, railways were viewed as old and outdated, left to rot in favour of the automobile.
To build the Randstad, Dutch planners had to reimagine the train itself. It had to be convenient, fast enough to make cities feel like neighbourhoods, and reliable to replace the car.
In 1970, a massive reinvestment program kickstarted the revival of the country’s railroads, beginning with a new timetable. Train frequencies were dramatically increased—by nearly 40%. Track speeds were raised, allowing trains to travel faster than ever before. Most importantly, the railways began to be viewed as a single network rather than individual lines. Trains traveling in different directions were scheduled to meet at key stations, making transfers seamless. The goal was to replicate the flexibility of the car, allowing people to travel anywhere at any time of day.
Over 50 years, the Dutch transformed their struggling railway into one of the world’s most comprehensive transport networks. At The Hague Central Station, for example, there is a variety of transportation options—trams, metros, and bike shares, all feeding into the intercity and regional rail network. These well-designed stations make transfers quick and easy. You can step off a train and onto a tram without even going outside.
A single integrated fare card connects trains, trams, bike shares, and car shares, making door-to-door travel seamless. Unlike other intercity rail systems that use demand-based pricing, NS (Nederlandse Spoorwegen) Rail operates on fixed pricing, ensuring affordability and predictability.
As transit expert Jarrett Walker famously said: “Frequency is freedom.” Between the major hubs of the Randstad, trains run every 10 minutes or less. Over time, the intercity rail network effectively became one massive metro system.
How did the Randstad help improve urban life in the Netherlands?
Cities that once felt far apart are now connected seamlessly. Residents have seamless access to jobs and services within a unified labour market that serves over 8 million people—nearly half of the country’s population.
Commuting between intercity hubs has become a routine part of daily life. This expanded urban system has significantly increased the geographical scope in which people can search for housing, all while maintaining easy access to employment, education, and services. As a result, the Randstad has become a single polycentric entity—functioning like one large, interconnected city.
Perhaps most importantly, this shift changed how new towns and neighbourhoods were built. Instead of sprawling suburbs, new developments are compact, walkable, and centred around train stations. No longer was farmland sacrificed for endless highways and parking lots. Instead, urban growth became sustainable, efficient, and people focused.
What challenges does the Randstad face today?
Urban space is as much a social construct as it is a physical one. Our perception of distance depends on the transportation options at our disposal.
In the Netherlands, the railway network acts as a substitute for proximity, shrinking the distance between cities in the Randstad. This excellent transport network has long been used as a tool to preserve historic city centres while reducing commuting pressures.
But as the region continues to grow, this strategy is no longer enough. The Randstad now faces a crippling housing crisis, worsened by a refusal to densify its urban cores. With limited land available near stations, housing supply struggles to meet demand—pushing prices up and forcing affordable housing further out, often beyond the reach of the daily urban system. Strict land use regulations and a cultural aversion to high-rise buildings create a vicious cycle, further exacerbating the crisis.
Despite these challenges, the Randstad is undeniably a massive success. It has dramatically increased people’s access to jobs, housing, and opportunities. As a result, the once-disparate collection of cities has become one—united by their economies, cultures, and most importantly, their people.
If you want to understand the importance of having a diversity of modes of transport for healthy cities, register now to our free online course on Multimodal Transport.
