After 4,5 years of work, Amsterdam has inaugurated a new, underground bicycle shelter in front of the central station of Amsterdam. The secured bike racks, built under the water of the station square, offer parking space for almost 7 000 vehicles.

Cyclists can park their bikes 24/7, the first 24 hours are free. Cyclists enter the parking via moving walkways, and upon entering, they will see the free spaces indicated by green lights. Later this year, in February, an additional garage for about 4 000 bicycles will be opened at the back side of the station.

Bicycle basement

The bicycle basement is connected underground to the subway and station hall, so travelers will soon be able to walk to the train without any detours. Tour boats sail above the bicycle shelter, to and from their new jetties.

Apparently, supply creates demand, and on top of the almost 11 000 available parking places, rail manager ProRail wants to create even more bike racks in the future for about 8 500 bicycles under the eastern rails of the station. The opening is expected in 2029.

Light, comfortable, and safe

Underground bicycle shelters used to be dark and unpleasant spots people rather avoided. The new bicycle parking is spacious, light, comfortable for users, and safe. Thanks to the new bike facilities, thousands of aboveground bicycle places could be removed, freeing space in the city for other purposes.

The three-story high ‘bicycle flat’, a floating bicycle shelter construction on the western side of the central station, opened in 2001 as a ‘temporary’ solution and offering space to 2 500 bicycles, will no longer be necessary. Still, it will not be broken down yet: the rusted colossus will remain where it is, for the time being. It could reopen if there will be a shortage of parking space in the future.

Utrecht

The new bicycle garage is not only the largest in Amsterdam but also one of the largest in the world. Tokio has a bike shelter for almost 10 000 vehicles, and in 2019, Utrecht opened the largest bicycle shelter in the world, with room for 12 500 bikes. In Ghent (Belgium), plans are on the table for a bicycle shelter for 17 000 places to open in 2027.