Metro (subway) in Amsterdam:
info, tickets, route plans & tips for passengers

The single-day or multi-day tickets that are available for the public transport system in Amsterdam are typically the best choices for visitors. These tickets allow unlimited use of the Metro (subway), GVB bus system, trams, as well as ferries for the entire period of validity (1 – 7 days).

These tickets are rather inexpensive for a European metropolitan city. For 2021 fares range between €5.30 and €8.50 a day, depending on period of validity

Convenience:

You can purchase these tickets online and upfront without additional fees via the English-language website of the authorised GVB ticket seller – click here –. You will not have to deal with ticket machines or the tariff system upon your arrival.

That saves time and nerves – after all, you will have better things to do in Amsterdam…

Today’s Metro network: lines and route network

The metro in Amsterdam currently (as of  2021) consists of five lines and 59 stops.
The numbering of the lines starts with 50, so at first glance the route network appears more complex than it actually is.
Line 52 (also Noord/Zuidlijn) was completed in summer 2018. It runs from Zuid station northwards via Central Station to Noord station.

Four of the five lines have their starting point at Amsterdam Centraal station:

• Line 50 connects the south-eastern and western districts of the city without crossing the city centre.
  Line 50 is also called the Ringlijn (ring line). It is the only line that does not pass through Amsterdam Centraal station.
  The final stops are “Isolatorweg” in the northwest and “Gein” in the southwest. With the stop “Bijlmer Arena” it also serves the well-known football stadium Johan Cruyff Arena.
  

  Most of the routes are not underground (picture: F.Heijnen, CC 2.0 license)

• Line 51 starts at the central station “Amsterdam Centraal” in the city centre. Here, the line runs in the first metro tunnel from the central station to the “Amstel” stop.
  Change in line routing
  Since 2020, line M51 no longer turns southwest at the south station “Zuid” (terminal stop “Amstelveen”), but runs parallel to line 50 to terminal stop “Isolatorweg”.

• The new line 52 runs to Zuid station or north to Noord station.
  Construction of metro line M52 (also Noord/Zuidlijn) started in 2002. It was completed in 2018.
  It runs from Zuid station northwards via Central Station to Noord station. This makes it the first line to pass under the IJ (Zuiderzee estuary) through a tunnel, thus connecting the northern parts of the city to the metro network.

• Lines 53 and 54 provide a connection from the city centre to the areas of Diemen, Duivendrecht in the southeast.

→ Map: Metro lines in Amsterdam / route network map (250kByte)

→ Download:
Map – Metro lines and tram lines in Amsterdam / route network plan (as of 2020 / 2021)

HISTORY OF THE METRO IN AMSTERDAM

Compared to other European metropolises such as London or Paris, the metro in Amsterdam is still very young.
The first ideas for a metro in Amsterdam already existed in the 1920s. But the economic crisis and the Second World War put a stop to these ideas.
Growing prosperity after the war and the associated motorisation of the population caused traffic problems to grow, and not only in Amsterdam. Many cities in Europe now began to implement the pre-war plans. At the end of the 1950s, for example, construction began on the metro in Lisbon.

Construction begins

Amsterdam began planning the metro in earnest in the 1960s. The first plan included a metro network with 4 lines that would replace many of the existing tram lines.
In 1970, construction began on the Oostlijn (East Line), which connects the city centre with the eastern districts of Bijlmermeer and Amstel. Here, part of the lines, especially outside the city centre, already ran above ground.
Since Amsterdam wanted to take a pioneering role as a city without car traffic, the metro network and the bicycle infrastructure were significantly expanded. In this way, Amsterdam has secured a leading position among European metropolises in the field of “mobility without cars”, also thanks to its modern metro.