Metro Amsterdam

The doors of the metro glide closed with a swooshing sound as it begins its journey. It picks speed between stations. As the next station is reached the signal for the doors opening beeps and an array of passengers rush in and scramble for seats. The Amsterdam Metro (Dutch: Amsterdamse metro) is a mixed rapid transit and light rail system in Amsterdam, and its surrounding municipalities Amstelveen, Diemen, and Ouder-Amstel in the Netherlands. The network is owned by the city of Amsterdam and operated by municipal public transport company GVB which also operates trams, ferries, and local buses. The metro system consists of four routes, 52 kilometers (32 mi) of tracks, and 52 stations.Three routes start at Amsterdam Centraal: Routes 53 and 54 connect the city centre with the suburban residential towns of Diemen, Duivendrecht, and the Amsterdam Zuidoost borough in the southeast, while Route 51 connects the city centre with the city of Amstelveen in the south. Route 50 connects the southeastern borough to the western part of the city without crossing the city centre. A fifth route, Route 52, running from the northern borough to the south, will be added to the system once the new North-South Line is completed in 2017.