ProRail
NOS News•today, 11:16•Edited today, 12:01
John Kompeer
interior editor
John Kompeer
interior editor
Those who travel by train will have to take into account much more nuisance due to work in the coming years. There is so much track work that it is no longer possible to divide all the jobs into quiet moments. Rail manager ProRail warns against this, where they classify all activities.
When a railway line needs maintenance, ProRail always tries to schedule this at times when there are few passengers. Such as at night, on weekends or during holidays. Travelers then have to look for an alternative, often in the form of buses that take much longer.
But according to the railway manager, it will no longer be possible to spare travelers as much as possible in the coming years. “Due to staff shortages in combination with an enormous increase in rail work, this is no longer self-evident. That is why rail contractors are now also working outside the periods of low passenger demand.”
ProRail
For example, the rails must be replaced once in a while. Otherwise there is a risk of cracks, as here on the Moerdijk bridge a few years ago
ProRail
Just like here in Geldermalsen in 2019. Trains can derail due to a broken rail.
“The shortages are not new,” says ProRail spokesman Coen van Kranenburg. “But at the same time we carry out much more work than before, about 40 percent more than ten years ago”.
This concerns, for example, work to strengthen railway embankments. These were sometimes built more than 150 years ago and can no longer cope with the number of trains today. Or installing extra signals so that trains can run closer together. “We need staff for all those jobs and that is difficult to find, especially at night and during the holidays.”
Postponing work in order to limit the nuisance is not an option, according to the railway manager. “That means that you are going to create unsafe situations. And not carrying out maintenance always leads to more malfunctions, so travelers will still suffer from it,” Kranenburg explains.
10,000 travelers in Leeuwarden
Next year, especially travelers around Leeuwarden station will be the losers. In June 2024 – still outside the holiday season – most of the train traffic there will be flat for three weeks due to track work. Almost 10,000 travelers are expected to deal with this every day.
Annoying, but according to ProRail it really cannot be done at another time. “Because we need a lot of people during the summer holidays for large rail projects in Amersfoort and Ede. In these places, working during the week outside holidays will irrevocably lead to a traffic jam.”
ANP At Leeuwarden station, the railway lines from Harlingen, Sneek, Groningen and Zwolle converge
In that respect, ProRail calls 2024 just the ‘taster’. “We already know that what we do in Friesland next year will happen much more often in more places in the country in the coming years.” In addition to travelers, freight transporters will also be affected by this, such as with work on the Havenspoorlijn in Rotterdam and the Betuwelijn during the week.
‘Sour apple’
Outgoing State Secretary Heijnen, responsible for the railways, is not happy with the extra nuisance, but at the same time is not blind to the staff shortages. “It is always annoying for travelers if they have to make a detour or if buses are used instead of trains due to work. These works are necessary to allow trains to run safely on the track and that is also in the interests of travelers.”
She calls it “a sour apple for travelers, but one that we unfortunately have to bite through”.
2023-08-31 09:16:29
#Train #passengers #suffer #heavy #work #track
