Overview
- A ceremonial opening took place this weekend and regular bus services have moved into the new station, which replaces the old side-by-side perron complex.
- The facility is split into two sections, perrons A and B, each with multiple stops and direct access from the station’s pedestrian tunnel so passengers no longer walk between buses.
- Project leaders said completion was delayed from an original 2023 target by COVID-related supply and labour shortages, the Suez Canal disruption and the war in Ukraine, and a 2024 fire that damaged a canteen and technical building was repaired.
- OV Bureau Groningen Drenthe says journey-time savings from the new layout free up €1.5 million to add capacity and change timetables in Drenthe, including a summer schedule, more services on busy routes and a reroute of line 33 via the Buitenvaart industrial area.
- The new terminal serves Qbuzz and the train-replacement Arriva bus to Leer while some services, including international carriers such as Flixbus, continue to depart from Stationsweg; the station sits on the former PTT postsorting site known as 'De Tuin'.