Mammoet has completed the replacement of a second railway bridge at Amsterdam Centraal Station as part of a multi-year infrastructure programme to upgrade the Dutch capital’s busiest rail hub.
The work follows the successful installation of the first bridge in 2025 and forms part of the High-Frequency Rail Transport (PHS) Programme, led by ProRail. The wider project includes track improvements, infrastructure modifications and civil engineering works designed to increase rail capacity at the station.
Working with construction company Dura Vermeer, Mammoet carried out the transportation and installation of three steel bridge deck sections manufactured by Hollandia Infra. The bridge comprises two outer sections measuring 28.5 metres and weighing 275 tonnes each, together with a central section measuring 21 metres and weighing 175 tonnes.
Given the station’s location in the centre of Amsterdam, the bridge sections were transported by water rather than by road to reduce disruption and allow station operations to continue during the works.
Each section was delivered by flat-top barge to the Oostertoegang side of the station. The barges were partially submerged to enable them to pass beneath a low pedestrian bridge before the bridge sections were rotated by 90 degrees using self-propelled modular transporters (SPMTs) and positioned for lifting.
Unlike the first bridge replacement, which used Mammoet’s Mega Jack 300 system for the final lifting operation, the second installation required a different approach due to restricted working space between the existing and newly installed bridges.
Mammoet Project Manager Leo de Vette said:Previously, we used our Mega Jack 300 system and SPMTs to lift and rotate all deck sections on the deck of the barge and then drive them off and into position.
This time, however, we are working between two bridges, so we had to consider the decks and columns of the old bridges, as well as those of the new bridge we installed last year.
For this reason, we had to first maneuver and rotate the new sections underneath these bridges and then jack them up using a four-point lifting system, which was assembled on the quayside.
The lifting system consisted of four synchronised hydraulic cylinders mounted within tracks, allowing the bridge sections to be raised and positioned with precision.
Installation of the central bridge span involved placing the section temporarily on supporting consoles attached to the two outer spans. The central bridge column was then constructed before the span was lowered into its final position. The installation of each bridge section took approximately one week to complete.
The remaining bridge replacements at Amsterdam Centraal Station will be carried out as part of the ongoing PHS Programme, which aims to prepare the station for increased rail services in the coming years.
