The cabinet refuses to fully pay for additional Maaslijn costs

The current outgoing cabinet has no plans to pay the additional costs for the renewal of the Maaslijn, despite several attempts by the province of Limburg.

The Limburg Board of Provincial Executive has repeatedly and from various portfolios held discussions with the outgoing Minister and State Secretary for Infrastructure and Water Management about this issue. But these conversations have proven fruitless, as it turned out last Wednesday.

Renewal

The train connection between Roermond and Nijmegen must be renewed by the end of 2027. The project to electrify the outdated railway line and provide it with double track has been significantly delayed, partly due to the shortage of materials due to the situation in Ukraine. An earlier tender also failed, after which it was later re-issued.

When it was announced last autumn that a railway contractor had been found to carry out the project, the total cost was estimated at €358 million. This amount was again 12 million euros higher than previously estimated. The extra costs would be divided between the province and the national government, but Limburg politicians insisted that the national government would cover all additional expenses. The Provincial Council requested the council to negotiate this with the ministry. However, according to the council, the ministry states that there is ‘no room to make additional financial efforts for the Maaslijn project’.

As soon as a new cabinet is formed, options may be opened to rearrange the portfolio, according to a ministry spokeswoman.