21
March
2017
|
19:23
Europe/Amsterdam

'Kaagbaan' gets the green light

And were off: in the coming nine weeks, Runway 06-24 (the 'Kaagbaan') will undergo a complete renovation. Not a single centimetre will be left untouched. The runway will gain 225,000 m2 of fresh asphalt, 130 kilometres of new cabling and 1,500 brand-new runway lights. And these will not be just any lamps!

LED there be light

More and more of the lighting at Schiphol is being replaced by LED lighting – but at runway 06-24, we are taking things a step further. Since the entire runway is being renovated anyway, we plan to replace the entire underground electrical supply for the lamps, beneath the runway. Thanks to this new power supply, we will have an entire sustainable lighting system.

Big savings

And that is sustainability worth getting excited about! Soon, the new system will allow us to reduce our energy consumption by 60 to 80 per cent. Moreover, the new bulbs will have a significantly longer lifespan than the ‘old-fashioned’ halogen lamps. Whereas in the past we had to take the runway out of use once every three years in order to change all the lamps, in future we will only need to do so every seven to fifteen years. Their operation will additionally be much less prone to disruption: the chance that lamps will burn out will be significantly reduced.

Future-proof

These lamps are not the only step forward in sustainability: we are working hard in other areas during the maintenance of Runway 06-24 as well. The rubble from the old runway will be recycled to make the asphalt lanes alongside the new runway, and we are investing in sustainable materials over the entire breadth of the project. In this way, we can ensure that Runway 06-24 as a whole will last longer and be less prone to disruptions. While that is a nice benefit for Schiphol, it is advantageous for our passengers and neighbours, too!