Train stations in Groningen

Groningen is the station for the city centre and the one with the Intercity trains from Zwolle, Utrecht and Schiphol, so use it unless your address is next to Groningen Noord or Groningen Europapark.

Which station to use

Groningen Noord lies in the north of the city, near the Selwerd and Tuinwijk districts, and only Arriva trains call there. For the university's Zernike campus in the north, the university sends visitors to the main station and Qbuzz bus 15, not to Groningen Noord. Groningen Europapark is in the south, close to the Euroborg football stadium, and is served by Arriva and by NS Sprinters. Noord is about 5 minutes and Europapark about 3 minutes from Groningen by train.

Trains from Groningen

Times are for weekdays in the timetable running until 12 December 2026. The Intercity trains run the same pattern on Saturdays and Sundays.

• Zwolle: an Intercity every 30 minutes takes 56 minutes. The Sprinter takes 1 hour 5 minutes and runs every 30 minutes, hourly on Sundays.
• Utrecht Centraal: one direct Intercity an hour, 1 hour 51 minutes. The other hourly Intercity means a change at Zwolle.
• Schiphol Airport: one direct Intercity an hour, 2 hours 12 minutes.
• Amsterdam Centraal: no direct daytime train. Take the Schiphol Intercity to Almere Centrum and change, about 2 hours 5 to 15 minutes in all.
• Leeuwarden: Arriva runs two fast trains an hour in 36 minutes and two stopping trains in 47 minutes.
• Delfzijl and Veendam: Arriva stopping trains every 30 minutes, taking 39 and 28 minutes. Roodeschool and Eemshaven: Arriva stopping trains in 47 and 55 minutes. Bad Nieuweschans: hourly, 51 minutes.
• Night train: on Friday nights Arriva runs a night train from Groningen at 01:42 to Schiphol Airport (03:55), via Assen, Zwolle, Lelystad and Amsterdam Centraal, returning at 04:49 to arrive at 07:12. Tickets are sold only in the glimble and 9292 apps; a bank card or OV-chipkaart does not work.

Leer and Germany

Arriva started running trains to Leer in Germany again on 5 October 2026, after more than ten years, once an hour. On weekdays you change at Winschoten, and the trip takes about 1 hour 20 minutes; only the first two trains in the morning and the last two in the evening run through. On Saturdays and Sundays the train is direct and takes about 1 hour 5 minutes. For Bremen or Hanover, change at Leer; there is no through train from Groningen.

From Friday 6 November 22:00 until the end of Sunday 8 November, buses replace trains between Bad Nieuweschans and Leer, stopping at Bunde, Weener and Ihrhove. Allow extra time.

Engineering works

From Friday 11 December 01:00 to Monday 21 December 05:00 there is work between Zwolle and Lelystad. It affects the direct Intercity to Schiphol, the change for Amsterdam at Almere and the Friday night train, but not the Intercity to Utrecht, which runs via Amersfoort. Expect longer journeys; NS adds advice to its planner three weeks before.

On Sunday 15 November until 09:03 and from Saturday 21 November 04:00 to Monday 23 November 02:00, works between Lelystad and Amsterdam change Schiphol trains; fewer Intercity trains run on the second dates, so the Schiphol train may need a change. In the night of 11 to 12 November, from 01:00 to 05:00, buses replace any Arriva trains to Leeuwarden, Delfzijl and Eemshaven. Apart from the works above, no other engineering works are planned on lines from Groningen up to 4 January 2027.

From the station to the centre

Leave the main station on the city side and walk past the Groninger Museum straight into the centre. The Grote Markt, with the Martinitoren, is the main square. Qbuzz city buses stop at the station; tap in and out with the same contactless card or phone. Buses no longer cross the Grote Markt, and the centre stops are at Westerhaven, on the Gedempte Zuiderdiep and by the Provinciehuis and the Stadsschouwburg.

Tickets

Tap in and out with a contactless debit card, credit card or phone, or buy an e-ticket in the NS app. A one-way ticket is valid until 04:00 the next day. Paying by card on an Arriva train needs at least €10 available on the account. The same card works on the train to Leer: check in at your departure station and out at an Arriva terminal on arrival. Arriva also sells a temporary €10 day ticket between Groningen and Leer, and a Niedersachsen-Ticket Plus Groningen is valid there too.

Rail passes and reservations

Interrail passes cover NS Intercity and Sprinter trains and Arriva's regional trains in the north, with no reservation. A Netherlands One Country Pass covers the Leer train only as far as the German border at Bad Nieuweschans; for Leer you need a Global Pass or a ticket for the German part. The Arriva night train to Schiphol is not covered by any pass. Information is as of October 2026.

Mistakes to avoid

Plan the change at Almere for Amsterdam Centraal. When you change between NS and Arriva at Groningen, check out of one and into the other, or you pay the full boarding fare: €10 on Arriva, €20 on NS.