A majority of the House of Representatives wants the North/South line to simply be extended to Schiphol and Hoofddorp. Last year, 1.8 billion euros that had been reserved for this purpose were cut back by the government, much to the dismay of transport councilor Melanie van der Horst, among others.
That writes The Telegraph. Despite the cuts, the outgoing cabinet still supports the plan, State Secretary Heijnen (Spoor) claimed today. However, according to her, it is up to a new cabinet to reserve money for this,
Companies such as NS and KLM are prepared to contribute 1.4 billion euros to accessibility together with regional governments. But they will only do that if the government’s cuts of 1.8 billion euros are reversed.
Financial challenges
Whether that will actually happen is highly questionable. According to outgoing minister Mark Harbers, there are financial challenges, partly caused by much higher construction and material costs. Furthermore, the multi-billion dollar Zuidasdok project (undertunneling the A10 South) is at risk, because that project alone is 800 million euros more expensive.
‘Difficult choices will therefore have to be made in the coming months’, says Harbers. He does not say what they are. The House of Representatives will be informed about this before the summer.
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2024-01-22 20:42:00
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