Winschoten
Winschoten railway station in 2006
General information
Location	Stationsweg 22[1] Winschoten, Netherlands
Operated by	NS Stations
Line	Harlingen–Nieuweschans railway
Platforms	2
Tracks	3
Train operators	Arriva
Bus operators	Qbuzz
Connections	Bus lines 11, 12, 13, 14, 17, 48, 75, 110, 119, 618, 643
Construction
Architect	Karel Hendrik van Brederode
Other information
Station code	Ws[1]
History
Opened	1 May 1868 (1868-05-01)
Services
Preceding station   Arriva   Following station Template:Arriva Stoptrein stations toward Template:Arriva Stoptrein stations Template:Arriva Stoptrein lines 1x/hour, but only 1x/2 hours at Sundays; Not on late evenings Template:Arriva Stoptrein stations toward Template:Arriva Stoptrein stations Template:Arriva Stoptrein lines 1x/hour; Not on late evenings Terminus Template:Arriva Stoptrein lines 1x/hour; Late evenings only Template:Arriva Stoptrein stations toward Template:Arriva Stoptrein stations
Location Winschoten Location within the Dutch railway network

Winschoten (Template:IPA-nl; abbreviation: Ws) is an unstaffed railway station in Winschoten in the Netherlands. It is located on the Harlingen–Nieuweschans railway between Scheemda and Bad Nieuweschans in the province of Groningen.

The station building, designed by Karel Hendrik van Brederode, was completed in 1865 and expanded in 1904. The train services started on 1 May 1868 and have since been provided by Maatschappij tot Exploitatie van Staatsspoorwegen (1868–1937), Nederlandse Spoorwegen (1938–2000), NoordNed (2000–2005), and Arriva (2005–present). During World War II, 500 Jews were transported from the station via Westerbork to Nazi concentration camps, where most of them were killed.

There are currently two local train services with trains every half an hour to and from Groningen, and trains every hour to and from Bad Nieuweschans and Leer (Germany). The station handles 2,500 train passengers on an average weekday. There is a park and ride area for cars and bicycles, and a bus station with eleven regional bus services provided by Qbuzz.

In 1860, the Dutch government passed a railway law for the construction of ten state railroads (Template:Lang-nl).^[2] The Harlingen–Nieuweschans railway or Staatslijn B was opened between 1863 and 1868.^[3][4] The first part between Harlingen Haven and Leeuwarden was opened in 1863 and the second part between Leeuwarden and Groningen in 1865.^[4]

The station building in Winschoten was completed in 1865.^[1] The third part of Staatslijn B between Groningen and Winschoten was opened on 1 May 1868.^[3] Train services were operated by the Maatschappij tot Exploitatie van Staatsspoorwegen (Company for the Exploitation of the State Railways). Since November 1868, trains continue to Nieuweschans,^[3] and since December 1876 to Leer in Germany,^[5] when the Harlingen–Nieuweschans railway was connected to the Ihrhove–Nieuweschans railway.

In 1904, the station building was expanded with a porch and additional waiting room.^[1] From 1938 to 2000, train services were provided by the Nederlandse Spoorwegen (Netherlands Railways), when the Maatschappij tot Exploitatie van Staatsspoorwegen merged with the Hollandsche IJzeren Spoorweg-Maatschappij (Hollandic Iron Railroad Company).^[6][7] In 1942, during the German occupation of the Netherlands in World War II, approximately 500 Jews from Winschoten were transported by train to the Westerbork transit camp and from there to Nazi concentration camps in Germany and Poland, where 446 of them were killed.^[8] As a result of the war, the German border at the railway was closed for passenger transport from 1944 to 1954.^[3] In 1967, the roofed bus station was built next to the station building.^[9] In the last quarter of the 20th century, the station building's porch was replaced.^[10]

From 1999 onwards, other railway companies received concessions for the northern railway lines of the Netherlands. NoordNed, a joint venture of the Nederlandse Spoorwegen and Arriva, provided the railway services to and from Winschoten between 2000 and 2005.^[11] The Ihrhove–Nieuweschans railway was closed for major renovations in the years 2000–2002.^[5] Arriva bought all shares of NoordNed in 2003.^[12] Since 2005, the train services are operated as Arriva, after the name NoordNed was dropped.^[13] The station building is currently being restored to its state of 1904.^[14] During the construction work, a waiting area is opened on weekdays.^[15]

The railway station is located at the Stationsweg in the city of Winschoten in the east of the province of Groningen in the northeast of the Netherlands.^[1] It is situated on the Harlingen–Nieuweschans railway, also called Staatslijn B,^[3] between the railway stations of Scheemda and Bad Nieuweschans.^[16] The Heiligerlee railway stop was between Scheemda and Winschoten from 1908 to 1934, and the Ulsda railway stop was between Winschoten and Nieuweschans from 1887 to 1938.^[17] The railway connects via Zuidbroek and Groningen to the rest of the Dutch railway network in the west^[16] and via Bad Nieuweschans to the German railway network in the east.^[3] The distance from Winschoten westward to railway terminus Harlingen Haven is 115 km (71 mi), to Groningen 34 km (21 mi), to Zuidbroek 12 km (7.5 mi), and to Scheemda 5 km (3.1 mi), and eastward to railway terminus Bad Nieuweschans is 12 km (7.5 mi).^[4]

The 19th-century station building is owned by NS Stations.^[18] It is of the type SS 3rd class, which was designed by Karel Hendrik van Brederode,^[1] and was chosen instead of the type SS 4th class because of the importance of Winschoten as a commercial center.^[10] Eight station buildings of this type have been built in the Netherlands between 1862 and 1865, of which four remain today.^[19] This building of 1865 has a median risalit and wings on both sides parallel to the railway. The facade on the city-side and railway-side are identical, except for a half round decoration on the city-side. The doors and windows of the building have arched frames.^[20] In the 1904 expansion, an enclosed porch was added and the left wing was extended with an extra waiting room.^[1][10]

Bus station in 1995

At the station are three unelectrified railway tracks.^[18] There are two railway platforms^[18] that are accessible via a wheelchair ramp and tactile paving^[21] and that have dynamic passenger information screens.^[18] The east end of platform 1 is covered by a roof attached to the building, and both platforms have a shelter and benches.^[18] Trains in the direction of Groningen leave from platform 1 and trains in the direction of Bad Nieuweschans and Leer leave from platform 2.^[18]

There is a free park and ride (Template:Lang-nl) area with 120 car parking spaces and 320 bicycle stands at the station.^[18] There are also subscription-only bicycle lockers and a subscription-only bicycle rental service.^[21] There is a tunnel for cyclists and pedestrians underneath the tracks and platforms to the south side of the city.^[18] There is a roofed bus station which is owned by Arriva.^[18] There is also a taxicab stand at the station.^[21]

The company Arriva, a subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn, has the concession for rail transport in the provinces of Friesland and Groningen until 2020.^[22] There are two local train services (Template:Lang-nl) using diesel-powered Stadler GTW railcars, which are branded as Spurt, that call at Winschoten:^[23][24][25]

• Stoptrein 20100: Groningen – Groningen Europapark – Kropswolde – Martenshoek – Hoogezand-Sappemeer – Sappemeer Oost – Zuidbroek – Scheemda – Winschoten – Bad Nieuweschans – Weener – Leer^[23][24]
• Stoptrein 37500: Groningen – Groningen Europapark – Kropswolde – Martenshoek – Hoogezand-Sappemeer – Sappemeer Oost – Zuidbroek – Scheemda – Winschoten (– Bad Nieuweschans)^[23][25]

On weekdays, there is one train every half an hour between Groningen and Winschoten in both directions and one train every hour between Winschoten and Bad Nieuweschans in both directions.^[23][26] In the late evening, the 20100 service does not ride.^[23] During the morning rush hours and in the late evening, the 37500 service continues to Bad Nieuweschans.^[23] On an average weekday, 2,500 passengers travel to and from Winschoten by train.^[18]

A regional train service (Template:Lang-nl) between Groningen, Winschoten, and Leer is planned for 2018.^[27]

The company Qbuzz, a subsidiary of Nederlandse Spoorwegen, has the concession for bus transport in the provinces of Groningen and Drenthe until 2019.^[28] There are eleven regional bus connections at the station in Winschoten with the following destinations:^[29]

• Template:Nl icon Station Winschoten, train schedules and station facilities