Utrecht is preparing to expand the bicycle parking garage at station Vaartsche Rijn, converting part of an adjacent car park to add roughly 650 bicycle spaces at what has become the city's second-busiest railway station.

The gemeente announced on 21 September that it will work with ProRail, the manager of the national rail network, on the expansion of the cycle park at the Oosterkade. The announcement follows a definitive decision by the college van burgemeester en wethouders, Utrecht's executive board, earlier in September, after several years of research into the station's options.

Since opening in 2016, Station Vaartsche Rijn has grown into a transfer point for train, tram, bus, car and bicycle. It now handles more than 9,000 passengers a day, according to the municipality, making it Utrecht's second-busiest railway station. It links the city centre and Utrecht Science Park with Utrecht Zuid and serves growing residential and employment areas including the Merwedekanaalzone.

To make room for more bicycles, the city will remove 44 of the 224 spaces in the neighbouring car parking garage, cutting its capacity to 180. Current bicycle capacity at the station is about 1,200 spaces, split between guarded and unguarded parking, according to the college's letter to the city council. A possible second phase could add roughly 900 more bicycle spaces by further reducing car parking, but the municipality will first review how car and bicycle demand develop after the first phase; no decision has been made on whether or when to proceed.

The expansion is expected to cost €9.7 million in total. The council letter lists a €4.6 million national contribution through ProRail, €1.2 million from the province of Utrecht and €3.5 million from the municipality's multi-year infrastructure budget. That municipal budget also supports planned bicycle parking projects at Domplein, the Knoopstalling and garages beneath Hoog Catharijne.

Beyond the added capacity, the project will relocate and widen the cycle park's entrance and improve routes for pedestrians and people with disabilities around the station.

Alderman for mobility Matthijs Sienot said the project would help Vaartsche Rijn serve as a growing transport hub and gateway to the southern city centre by adding bicycle spaces and improving routes. Olger van Dijk, ProRail's regional director for the northern Randstad, said the added capacity would give travellers more room to park while helping keep public space around the station tidy.

Construction is expected to start in the second half of 2028, with completion planned for the first half of 2029. The gemeente said the cycle park will stay open throughout the renovation except for a single long weekend, and that it will inform nearby residents and users of the garage before work begins.