The recent fall of the Dutch government Rutte-IV has an unfortunate timing for the reactivation of the Hamont-Weert railway line. Precisely at the moment when positive signals came from the Netherlands, the file threatens to stall again. This writes Timmie van Diepen in the Interest of Limburg.

Last Friday, just hours before the Dutch government fell, State Secretary for Infrastructure and Water Management Vivianne Heijnen (CDA) announced in the Dutch parliament that the new study into the reactivation of the Hamont-Weert railway line had been completed.

“Just when there was goodwill from the Netherlands, the file threatens to get stuck again,” says Van Diepen. The new study came about on the personal initiative of State Secretary Heijnen, who from Maastricht understands the importance of the Hamont-Weert railway line. This dossier is also high on the agenda in Dutch Limburg.

The reopening of the railway seems a logical step from a rational point of view. The only thing that is still needed is the installation of overhead wires over a distance of 8 kilometers on Dutch territory. Once this has been completed, NMBS trains (currently still standing still for 30 minutes in Hamont) can continue to Weert, where there are connections with the entire Dutch rail network.

Although this dossier has been high on the political agenda for a long time, the Dutch continued to delay despite promises. In particular, the costs, estimated by infrastructure manager ProRail at 50 to 150 million euros, would be disproportionate to the estimated number of travelers (1.050 per day, according to the NMBS).