No badgers or beavers were observed during the activities in Esch and Vught.
Trains are running again between Den Bosch and Boxtel. The badgers have moved and the track has been restored. Prorail did not encounter any badgers during the work in Esch and Vught. They may assume that they now live in a different place. On closer inspection in Vught, they saw that some of the corridors there had not been dug by the badger, but by the beaver. This is also a protected species.
“We are very grateful to contractors ASSET Rail and Heijmans for carrying out this enormous emergency operation. But also the Netherlands Enterprise Agency and the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality for the quick exemptions and the Das & Boom foundation for their expert involvement. Thanks to their special efforts, passenger and freight transport can be safely restarted.”
beavers
Prorail has dealt with this in the same way as with the badgers. In consultation with the Netherlands Enterprise Agency, non-return valves have been installed at the entrances to give the beaver the opportunity to find another shelter. The subsequent excavation work was carried out under the supervision of an ecologist. Prorail did not encounter any beavers, otherwise they would have stopped, just like with the badger.
worked hard
A lot of hard work has been done over the past week, first of all to move the tie in a safe and responsible manner, but also to be able to restart the train timetable as soon as possible. It was a major operation, to which many parties contributed. ProRail would like to thank all parties, both in front of and behind the scenes, for their hard work in the past week. Special thanks to the Netherlands Enterprise Agency and the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality for their input and rapid decision-making regarding the exemption.
Thanks also to the ecologists and the Das en Boom foundation. Their knowledge and guidance in moving the tie was indispensable. During the work, NS deployed buses and longer trains and extra Intercity trains on the detour routes during rush hours. Prorail also expresses its gratitude to the contractors ASSET Rail and Heijmans who, together with their own colleagues, made all materials and equipment available in such a short period of time to get this job done.
