Nieuwegein in the context of "Utrecht (province)"

The Randstad (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈrɑntstɑt] ; "Rim City" or "Edge City") is a roughly crescent- or arc-shaped conurbation in the Netherlands, that includes almost half the country's population. With a central-western location, it connects and comprises the Netherlands' four biggest cities (Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague, and Utrecht), their suburbs, and many towns in between, that all grew and merged into each other. Among other things, it includes the Port of Rotterdam (the world's busiest seaport outside Asia), the Port of Amsterdam (Europe's fourth-busiest seaport), and Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (Europe's fourth-busiest airport). With a population of approximately 8.4 million people it is one of the largest metropolitan regions in Europe, comparable in population size to the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region or the San Francisco Bay Area, and covers an area of approximately 11,372 km (4,391 sq mi). The Randstad had a gross regional domestic product of €510 billion in 2022, making it the second most productive region in the European Union, only behind the Paris metropolitan area. It encompasses both the Amsterdam metropolitan area and Rotterdam–The Hague metropolitan area. It is part of the larger Blue Banana megalopolis.

The Randstad's main cities are Almere, Amsterdam, Delft, Dordrecht, Haarlem, The Hague, Leiden, Rotterdam, and Utrecht. Other cities and towns include Alkmaar, Alphen aan den Rijn, Amersfoort, Amstelveen, Capelle aan den IJssel, Gouda, Heerhugowaard, Hilversum, Hoofddorp, Hoorn, Lelystad, Nieuwegein, Purmerend, Rijswijk, Schiedam, Spijkenisse, Vlaardingen, Zaandam, Zeist, and Zoetermeer.

The Hollandse or Hollandsche IJssel (pronounced [ˌɦɔlɑntsə ˈʔɛisəl]; "Holland IJssel", as opposed to the 'regular' or Gelderland IJssel) is a branch of the Rhine delta that flows westward from Nieuwegein on river Lek through IJsselstein, Gouda and Capelle aan den IJssel to Krimpen aan den IJssel, where it ends in the Nieuwe Maas. Another branch called Enge IJssel ("Narrow IJssel") flows southwest from Nieuwegein. The name IJssel is thought to derive from the Germanic i sala, meaning "dark water". Originally, the Hollandse IJssel forked off from river Lek at Nieuwegein, but the connection was cut off with the Hollandse IJssel nowadays only draining the surrounding pastures.

If the North Sea floods, the Hollandse IJssel allows water through the Rotterdam Waterway to flood low-lying land east of Rotterdam. The Delta Works included a steel barrier that can be lowered within minutes to block the waterway. The sea protection constructions were built at the mouth of the Hollandse IJssel in 1957.

IJsselstein (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈɛisəlstɛin] ) is a municipality and city in the Netherlands, in the province of Utrecht. IJsselstein received city rights in 1331. IJsselstein owes its name to the river Hollandse IJssel which flows through the city. It is a major commuting suburb for the Utrecht area, along with the neighbouring towns Houten and Nieuwegein (in part due to the Sneltram light rail line serving the area). It is surrounded by the municipalities of Utrecht, Montfoort, Lopik, Vijfheerenlanden and Nieuwegein.

52°9′8″N 5°0′23″E / 52.15222°N 5.00639°E / 52.15222; 5.00639

The Amsterdam–Rhine Canal (Dutch: Amsterdam-Rijnkanaal) is a canal in the Netherlands that was built to connect the port and capital city of Amsterdam to the main shipping artery of the Rhine. The canal is 72 km in length, over 100 meters wide and 6 meters deep. Its course follows a generally south-easterly direction as it goes through the city of Utrecht towards Wijk bij Duurstede where it intersects the Lek branch of the Rhine and then continues on to the river Waal near Tiel, with a branch, the Lek Canal, to the Lek near Nieuwegein. The canal is one of the busiest in the world. 91,495 vessels (including 5,541 recreational vessels) sailed through the canal in 2016, carrying a total of 77,172,454 tons of cargo.

The Utrechtse sneltram (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈytrɛxtsə ˈsnɛltrɛm]; literally Utrecht fast tram), operating under the brand name U-OV, is a light rail system in the Dutch city of Utrecht. The system consists of three tram routes connecting Utrecht Centraal railway station with the residential areas of Lombok and Kanaleneiland and the suburbs Nieuwegein and IJsselstein to the southwest of the station, and with the Uithof district and Utrecht University to the southeast. The system has a total length 18.3 km and 54 trainsets. It carried over 9 million riders in 2023.