The Dutch railway network needs a major overhaul. Over the next six years, rail manager ProRail will step up its game to prepare the Dutch rail network for the next forty years.

Travelers must take inconvenience into account for the next six years. Between now and 2030, train passengers and freight rail must, therefore, take into account congestion, cancellations, and diversions.

‘Customer nuisance’

ProRail boss John Voppen says he is doing everything possible to limit ‘customer nuisance’ for travelers and companies. The largest job will be carried out at Amersfoort-West.

This means, among other things, that five kilometers of track will be replaced, dozens of switches will be renovated, dozens of kilometers of cable will be renewed, and the car-train line will be extended. Security systems will also be updated.

Weeks of disruption…

ProRail would ideally like to complete approximately four hundred large and small jobs during holidays, nights, and weekends, but this is impossible due to a lack of staff. Work will, therefore, also take place during the week and outside the holidays.

This means there will be seven weeks of disruption for the operations around Amersfoort Central Station alone next summer. There will be no trains to and from Amsterdam for a month, and no trains will run to and from Utrecht for five weeks. And there will be no train traffic from Amersfoort Central Station for three weeks.

…and higher ticket prices

The disruption due to work came on top of last week’s news when the NS announced that train travel would become more expensive. ‘The largest job ever on the Dutch railway’ (annual costs up to and including 2030: 1.8 billion euros per year) is, therefore, particularly inconvenient.