Peter HilzA Eurostar (formerly Thalys) train in the Schiphol tunnel
NOS Nieuws•vandaag, 18:50
Plans to run more international trains to Amsterdam are in jeopardy. Due to the cutbacks at the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management, plans to extend the Amsterdam metro to Schiphol are in jeopardy, and thus also the expansion of the capacity of the Schiphol tunnel. This would mean that there would be no room for more international trains.
The Schiphol railway tunnel is an important point in the Dutch railway network. Not only sprinters and intercity trains between Amsterdam and Schiphol use the tunnel, so do many international trains to Amsterdam, such as the Eurostar to Paris and London.
“At the busiest times, fifty trains per hour pass through the tunnels here,” explains Harro Homan of rail manager ProRail. This means that the capacity of the busy route is limited and there is virtually no room for additional international trains. The idea was that this space would be created once the extension of the North/South line is a fact.
The North/South line currently ends at Amsterdam Zuid station, but the plan is to extend the metro line to Schiphol and Hoofddorp. This allows people to travel in the metro instead of in the sprinter trains and intercity trains that still run through the Schiphol railway tunnel.
The map below shows the plans for extending the North/South line:
NOS Construction plans North-South line
If more people take the metro to commute, there will be room for other trains to run instead of sprinters. “To Alkmaar and to Maastricht, but also internationally,” says vice-chairman Marja Ruigrok of the Amsterdam Transport Region, the organization that is responsible for public transport in the Amsterdam region.
International trains are a sustainable alternative to short flights within Europe. The desire for more international trains is shared by many parties in the Netherlands. For example, several carriers competed this year to secure a place on international rail and almost all political parties included the ambition for more international train traffic in their election manifestos.
1.8 billion euros
The announced cuts mean that the current plans for more international train traffic are uncertain. “If this money is not available, that ambition will be lost and we as a rail manager will not be able to realize it,” says Homan of ProRail.
Moreover, it is not only international trains that are in trouble, Ruigrok warns. There will be a lot of construction in the region in the coming years, including many homes in Hoofddorp, says Ruigrok. “So it is important that you make it easily accessible.” The extended metro line is an important part of this.
The announced cuts do not mean that the plan for the extension of the metro line has come to a standstill. “We are working and we will continue as usual, because the agreements have been made,” says Ruigrok. “But there is an amount missing. That is 1.8 billion, so that will have to be added.”
2024-01-21 17:50:11
#International #train #traffic #Amsterdam #dire #straits #due #budget #cuts
