# Line 53 (Amsterdam Metro)

Metro Line 53 (Dutch: Metrolijn 53), also known as the Gaasperplas Line (Gaasperplaslijn), is a line of the Amsterdam Metro running between Amsterdam Centraal and Gaasperplas metro station in Amsterdam-Zuidoost. It is the eastern branch of the Oostlijn.
The Weesperplein–Gaasperplas route was opened on 14 October 1977 and replaced the busy bus line 56. On 11 October 1980, the extension from Weesperplein to Centraal Station followed. Until 2013, almost only type M1, M2 and M3 rolling stock were in service on this line, which were built for this line between 1973 and 1980. In the period 2013-2015, these were gradually replaced by the new M5. Since then, CAF rolling stock has also been in service, and from 2019 to 2024 with S1/S2 light rail rolling stock. The latter rolling stock was replaced by the new M7 from 2023.

## Service

| Route | Train Frequency | Train Frequency | Train Frequency | Train Frequency | Train Frequency |
| Route | Rush-hour and daytime | Morning till 7:00, evenings after 20:00 and weekends till 10:00 | Evenings till 20:00 and weekends after 10:00 | Midsummer Rush-hour and daytime | Midsummer mornings till 07:00, evenings and weekends |
| Gaasperplas ↔ Centraal Station | 10 minutes | 15 minutes | 12 minutes | 12 minutes | 15 minutes |

### Station list

| Station | Transfers | Borough |
| Centraal Station | 51 Line 51 52 Line 52 54 Line 54 Amsterdam–Rotterdam Line Amsterdam–Schiphol Line Amsterdam–Elten Line Amsterdam–Zutphen Line Amsterdam–Schiphol Line Den Helder–Amsterdam Line | Centrum |
| Nieuwmarkt | 51 Line 51 54 Line 54 | Centrum |
| Waterlooplein | 51 Line 51 54 Line 54 | Centrum |
| Weesperplein | 51 Line 51 54 Line 54 | Centrum |
| Wibautstraat | 51 Line 51 54 Line 54 | Oost |
| Amstel | 51 Line 51 54 Line 54 Amsterdam–Arnhem Line | Oost |
| Spaklerweg | 51 Line 51 54 Line 54 | Oost |
| Van der Madeweg | 50 Line 50 54 Line 54 | Oost |
| Venserpolder | | Oost |
| Diemen Zuid | Weesp–Leiden Line | Diemen |
| Verrijn Stuartweg | | Diemen |
| Ganzenhoef | | Zuidoost |
| Kraaiennest | | Zuidoost |
| Gaasperplas | | Zuidoost |

## Derailments

On Wednesday, April 20, 1983, the last car of a 3 car train derailed next to the Centraal Station. Getting the train back on the rails was a lengthy job due to the limited space inside the tunnel. As a result, Metro traffic between the Centraal Station and Nieuwmarkt was halted for 3 days.
On Monday April 7, 2008 another train derailed in the same area, resulting in the halting of metro traffic on this section for 2 days. Metro service was resumed on Wednesday April 9 at 12:00.

## Trivia

In the early years, the metro stations Venserpolder and Diemen Zuid were still in a barren plain, and the number of passengers using those stations was almost zero. The stations were often called by the drivers as 'Kleipolder' (Clay polder) and 'Niemandsland' (No man's land). Also, when the development of Duivendrecht and Diemen Zuid station increased, there was no possibility to enter the metro station from that side. Only later did this become possible.

## Gallery

* The older LHB M3 rolling stock arrining at Kraaiennest station (1992)
* Line 50 at Diemen Zuid towards Gaasperplas using M4 rolling stock, during the line 53 replacement between Van der Madeweg and Gaasperplas (2013)
* A M5 series train pulling into Amstel station
* Two M5 series rolling stocks near Venserpolder station