Lightrail.nl offers expertise for a world-wide group of users. We combine knowledge from different domains, such as public transport, urban planning, project management, economics, ecology and social sciences.

High quality bus enhances public transport. In our view societies need 'better bus'. See: www.lightrail.nl/better-bus/

Lectures - Rob van der Bijl offers a series of 'in-house' discussion lectures on the interconnection between mobility and space. The series is derived from his lectures as visiting professor at Ghent University (Belgium). Download the brochure.

Amsteltram case: Amsterdam regional light rail, 1999-2024 - Lightrail.nl looks back at design and consultancy work from 25 years ago. The opening of the Amsteltram (R-net line 25; project Uithoorn line, July 2024) gives every reason to do so, because the idea to develop this line as light rail was already proposed in our studies from the period 1999-2001. Download the feature.

Barriers to tramways - The international light rail magazine TRAMWAYS & URBAN TRANSIT explored barriers that stand in the way of cities adopting light rail schemes. TAUT (July 2024) interviewed Rob van der Bijl (Lightrail.nl) on these barriers to tramway projects and operations: “The local authorities – the municipalities, the provinces and also the metropole regions – either don’t have of hardly have any tax jurisdiction so they can’t raise money like they do, for example, in the metropolitan region of Stockholm. The Netherlands and the UK are clear examples of this kind of ‘misfit’ but, unfortunately, there are many other examples as well.” Our conclusion: it is very difficult to get enough money to operate existing tramways and built new ones.

Lightrail.nl press encounters

Pointer - This was our message in this programme on Dutch national television (March 2023): The thinning out and elimination of so-called unprofitable regional bus lines erode the quality of the entire public transport network. After all, the people who were in such a small bus no longer use light rail on the main public transport connections.



Watch this example on morality and mobility at Favas.net.

Okayama tramway research - LRNL (April 2023) prepared and guided a working visit to the tramway in Okayama (Japan) and its operator the Ryobi Group. Download the footage of the TV broadcast and see also the related news item at Favas.net.

Ongoing research into tram-train 3rd generation: In recent years, we have continued our research into tram-train with fieldwork in Japan (Fukui and Toyama, 2018) and the metropolis of Paris (2018-2024). We will be publishing some research as soon as possible. To be continued …

The history and future of tramways has been the subject of an exhibition in the Open Air Museum of Arnhem (Netherlands) since the summer of 2021. Lightrail.nl is present with a sketch of a regional light rail network in and around the city of Groningen (Netherlands) (RVDB/Lightrail.nl, September 2006).

Our definition: Light Rail is a rail-bound form of public transport that is used on the scale of the urban region and the city. In contrast to train and metro, light rail is suitable for integration to a certain extent in public space and, if desired, for mixing with regular road traffic.

Sustainable urban development with LRT: Lessons from Netherlands and Japan: Possibilities for the application of Light Rail Transit (LRT – light rail, tramway) as high-quality public transport in cities, urban regions are countless. Our article opens with the question about the specific characteristics of LRT. Then the question is asked which comprehensive argumentation LRT projects can justify. Finally, we examine the question of how these types of projects can be realized. Each of these three questions – What? Why? How? – is addressed on the basis of a set with two LRT main cases, respectively from the Netherlands and Japan.
See International Railway Journal (IRJ)...
Read the full article by Rob van der Bijl, Kiyohito Utsunomiya and Niels van Oort at Delft University of Technology.

Urbanism and mobility, it is and remains a marriage of convenience. Rob van der Bijl (Lightrail.nl) is one of the few in the Netherlands who can call himself expert in both fields. He regularly publishes on his ideas. How does he view the future of city, mobility and the consequences for citizens? Read the interview from Emergent City at Favas.net.

Cycling: High quality public transport (e.g., light rail) in our view should be linked to high quality bicycles and infrastructures. See: www.lightrail.nl/bicycles/

Favas.net is an association powered by independent professionals that provide solutions for spatial planning and social empowerment. In co-operation with Lightrail.nl Favas.net explores potentials of rail-based public transport to enhance problematic neighbourhoods socially and economically, however, without using so-called masterplanning. Visit Favas.net.

Lightrail.nl developed Dutch Rail Sector (DRS, 2015-2021), a stage that comprehensively presented the rail system of the Netherlands for a world audience. Unfortunately, DRS has been closed September 2021 due to insufficient support and initiative from the Dutch sector.

DRS opened rail-related knowledge for clients involved in railway initiatives, research, projects and activities that aim to have efficient governance and cost-effective life cycle management within complex mobility hubs.