Maassluis, Maasland, Schipluiden

Long before people travelled by car or bicycle from A to B, the people of Westland journeyed by tow barge to Delft or The Hague. It may have been comfortable, but it was slow. The desire to travel faster led to the founding of the Westlandsche Stoomtramweg Maatschappij (WSM) in 1881. With the construction of tram lines, the transport of people and goods between the villages of the Westland finally gained speed.

In the beginning, though, things were still quite basic. The trams ran right through the villages, close to houses and shops. To avoid accidents, the tram had to move at walking pace. A staff member would walk ahead with a red flag and a signal lamp to warn pedestrians. One such original lamp can still be seen in the collection of the Westlands Museum.

It wasn’t until after 1891, under the leadership of Jonkheer Henri Gustave Verspyck, that order and reliability were introduced. Station buildings appeared along the route where travellers could buy tickets and shelter from the rain. The line from Maaslandse Dam via Schipluiden to Delft became an important link, not just for passengers but also for the thriving horticulture sector.

The arrival of buses marked the end of the tram for passenger transport, but freight services continued for decades. The last tram ran in 1967.

This cycle route follows part of the historic WSM route and takes you through Maassluis, Maasland and Schipluiden. In Schipluiden, you even cross the original tram bridge over the Vlaardingsevaart, once built for the railway but now part of the cycling network. Along the way, you’ll come across museums, mills and other spots that tell even more stories of the region.