The European Parliament Transport Committee’s has voted on the revision of the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) Regulation. Two northern Dutch rail projects, the Lelylijn and the Emmen-Rheine rail link, were made part of TEN-T, a vast network of roads, railways, airports and water infrastructure that the European Union plans to build in future. The vote, which took place Thursday, paves the way for approving the funding for the two infrastructure projects and launching the negotiations between the EU and the Dutch government on the rail lines.
The vote in Brussels was welcomed by Dutch politicians. “We see that there is a lot of enthusiasm in Brussels for the Lelylijn and our international ambitions as a region,” Avine Fokkens-Kelder, deputy for the province of Friesland, was quoted by Sikkom as saying. “This view is shared not only by Dutch MEPs, but also our German, Danish and Swedish colleagues. We believe the Lelylijn will contribute to the broad prosperity and sustainability of Europe, the Netherlands, and our region. In our view, the fact that the European Parliament wants to make the Lelylijn part of the Extended Core Network confirms that Europe wants the Lelylijn to be built as soon as possible. It is important, therefore, that Europe also invest money in the project.”
EU funding one step closer
The Lelylijn is a planned passenger rail service that would connect the northern Netherlands with the Randstad.
By providing a more direct route between Lelystad and Groningen, the project aims to cut journey times between the outlying northern provinces and the densely populated central urban conurbation by approximately 40 minutes. The plan also includes a few stops at Emmeloord, Heerenveen and Drachten. If approved, the line, whose total cost could exceed €10 billion, would be an important investment for Groningen, Friesland and Drenthe, and a potentially major boost to the region’s economy.
The Dutch cabinet has made an initial provision of €3 billion for developing the rail link, which includes financial contributions from the provinces, but additional funding is needed.
Because the European TEN-T funding program is reserved exclusively for cross-border rail projects, the province of Groningen is keen for the Lelylijn to continue eastwards and connect Groningen with such major German cities as Bremen and Hamburg.
The new line will have operating speed of approximately 200 km/h. The northern provinces have said that they could build about 220,000 additional homes to help combat the housing shortage in the country if the railway infrastructure is improved and faster rail connection with the Randstad is built.
