State Secretary Stientje van Veldhoven - Van der Meer writes today to the President of the House of Representatives that good accessibility to and from Zandvoort is important, especially during busy beach days and large-scale events, such as the Dutch Grand Prix from May 2020.
She indicates that the rail infrastructure is currently insufficiently equipped to transport large numbers of passengers in a structured manner. Against this background, the House of Representatives has requested, on the basis of the Von Martels et al. Motion, that all parties involved make a reasonable contribution to the financing of necessary measures and, after consultation, to inform the House about concrete proposals as soon as possible.
Situation.
In the summer months, the demand for rail capacity around Zandvoort is structurally constricting. Since June, the province of North Holland, the municipality of Zandvoort and other partners in the joint scheme (GR) Accessibility of Zuid-Kennemerland, the Amsterdam Transport Region and its ministry have been discussing measures.
In accordance with the regular working method, ProRail and NS have identified the measures that are required to structurally run six trains per hour in a responsible manner in the summer months, with the option of further increasing the number of trains during large-scale events.
Central government contributes € 2,35 million.
On 11 September, the parties involved agreed in mutual consultation to jointly invest € 7 million in improved accessibility of Zandvoort. About half of this is for weighting up to a single traction energy supply and improving level crossing safety in Zandvoort and Overveen.
In addition, transfer measures are needed, such as widening the stairs and construction of side platforms at the Zandvoort station. From the Central Government, the State Secretary is contributing € 2,35 million to structurally bringing the energy supply and level crossing safety into order. The region is responsible for the rest. This makes it possible to operate a reliable timetable on a structural basis and to structurally improve the quality of life and accessibility of the region.
Specifically for the Dutch Grand Prix, the organization is currently working out the mobility plan to lead the many tens of thousands of visitors to and from the circuit in the most sustainable way possible. Bicycle and transport by train play an important role in this. The circuit will take care of event-specific measures.
“Based on the above agreements, ProRail can start work on the railway measures. In parallel, the above parties will use the coming period to record the agreements and allow decision-making to take place in municipal councils and provincial states. The influence of the ruling by the Council of State on the Nitrogen Approach Program (PAS) on this file will also be further investigated. ”, said the State Secretary.
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