Schiphol Airport railway station is a major passenger railway station in Haarlemmermeer, Netherlands, beneath the terminal complex of Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, operated by the Nederlandse Spoorwegen. The station's six platforms are accessible via twelve escalators and three elevators located in the main concourse of the airport (Schiphol Plaza). The original station was opened in 1978, and the current station in 1995. It connects the airport to Amsterdam and other cities in the Netherlands, as well as to Belgium and France. History The original railway station at Schiphol was partly at street level and opened on 21 December 1978. Initially passengers could only travel as far as Amsterdam's Zuid WTC and RAI stations, as well as south bound towards Leiden, The Hague and Rotterdam. For travel to Amsterdam Centraal station passenger had to travel to RAI and transfer to a local tram. A direct link was created with the construction of the Amsterdam-Schiphol railway in 1986. A newly built underground station opened in 1995, the former building was demolished. As Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, which surrounds the railway station, is the largest airport within the Netherlands and the primary international gateway, Schiphol railway station changed into a major hub in the Dutch railway network. The station was renamed Schiphol Airport on 13 December 2015 to make the station more recognizable to international travelers. Destinations Schiphol stations offers several trains per hour to Amsterdam Centraal, and frequent services to the rest of the country as well. These include intercity services to Leiden, The Hague, Rotterdam, Utrecht, Eindhoven, Amersfoort, Almere, Lelystad, Apeldoorn, Deventer, Enschede, Groningen, Leeuwarden, Nijmegen and Zwolle. During nighttime, an hourly service connects Schiphol with Amsterdam, Utrecht, Rotterdam, Delft, Leiden and The Hague between 1am and 5am. The Thalys, Intercity Direct and Intercity Brussels call at Schiphol railway station. These trains connect the airport to Rotterdam, Breda, Antwerp, Brussels Airport, Brussels and Paris. Reservations are obligatory to board Thalys. For Intercity direct to Breda a supplement is required for the High Speed stretch to Rotterdam. Train services There are several types of train series in the Netherlands: Intercity direct These are Intercity Services using the high speed network. Intercity These are express trains calling at major stations. The fastest type of regular train in the Netherlands. Sprinters These are trains calling at all stations and mostly are operated by SNG or SLT 'Sprinter' train sets. The station is served by the following