Omroep Flevoland – News – Lely line officially added to European rail network

The Lely line has been permanently added as a new rail connection to the European rail network. The European Parliament agreed to this on Wednesday.

In December it was announced that the railway line had been added to a list of important rail connections for Europe. After the European Commission, the European Parliament has now also agreed.

This means that the Lely line would have to be extended from Groningen to Bremen, Hamburg and ultimately Copenhagen. A condition for a European contribution is that the railway line handles both passenger and freight transport.

The EU expects the Netherlands to complete the Lely Line by 2050 at the latest.

Money issue
Last week it was announced that money had actually been taken from the pot for the Lely line. This was shifted to other railways in the Netherlands. In collaboration with the northern provinces, the province of Flevoland drew up a joint letter in which they wanted to express their concerns and continue to emphasize the importance of the Lely Line.

The Lelylijn should connect the Randstad with North Flevoland, Friesland and Groningen. It is not yet known how the exact route will take place. The expectation is that the railway line will run via Emmeloord, Joure and Drachten to Groningen.

Important for broad prosperity
Provincial Council of Flevoland also discussed the Lely Line on Wednesday evening. They are unanimous in their opinion that the province should emphasize even more strongly to the national government how important the railway line is for the quality of life and prosperity of Noordoostpolder. The States believe that this position is not sufficiently expressed in a letter that the province sends to the Lelylijn Steering Group.

“Noordoostpolder has been without a station for 80 years. You can see from the Hanzelijn what this has meant for Dronten in terms of broad prosperity and accessibility,” said CDA faction leader Marian Uitdewilligen. That is why the Lelylijn must at least stop in Emmeloord, but also in Lelystad and Almere Centrum.

A majority of the States also urged to take a good look at what the Lely line means for the rail junction at Almere and Weesp. The parties are afraid that the Lely Line trains will literally get stuck at Almere if the construction of the IJmeer connection is not taken into account at the same time. According to some factions, this should even be a rail connection with a motorway, although others are afraid that Flevoland is asking too much.

Deputy Jan de Reus estimates the costs of the Lely line at approximately 10 billion. The government has so far reserved 3 billion. Three-quarters of the required money must be secured by this fall. De Reus did not want to comment on how much Flevoland can and wants to contribute. He emphasized that a cabinet decision is expected in December whether or not the Lely Line will continue.