A full connection of the Dutch Betuwe Line to the new third track in Germany, which is now under construction, will not be completed with 10 years. That is according to the Dutch State Secretary for Infrastructure Thierry Aartsen, who learned the news from infrastructure manager ProRail, which, in turn, learned the news from German counterparts at DB InfraGO.
From November 2024 to May 2026, intensive work is being carried out on the German side of the key freight railway to build a significant portion of a third track: the “Hollandstrecke” on the Zevenaar – Emmerich – Oberhausen route. This work is crucial because it will improve the connection of the Betuwe Line (and the Port of Rotterdam) to the German rail network. Work on the third track on the Dutch side has already been completed.
The work on the German side has resulted in frequent single-track and double-track outages on the Hollandstrecke since November of last year. These have already led to diversions for freight trains in the Netherlands. These diversions were put in place through collaboration between ProRail, DB InfraGO, and passenger and freight operators. The most important diversion is the Brabant Route, which runs from the Port of Rotterdam via the Kijfhoek rail yard, Breda, Tilburg, Eindhoven, and border point Venlo to Germany.
The Brabant Route is already very congested with passenger traffic, so handling 135 freight trains on days when the Betuwe Route is closed was a near-impossible task. Thanks to sophisticated planning, developed over several years, the problems for both passenger and freight transport have so far been manageable.
One more long-term, full-service closure is planned, from April 20 to May 17, 2026. At the end of May, the 80-week project, during which Germany is working hard on the third track, will be completed. But, as it turns out, the job won’t be finished by the end of May 2026. Not by a long shot.
No delivery date
“To date, our German colleagues have not yet issued a planned completion date for the complete construction of the third track,” state secretary Aartsen explains. “However, it is generally clear that there is limited room for further work on the third track until 2030 due to the overlap of other railway projects in the Netherlands and Germany. Furthermore, not all the necessary environmental and building permits for the remaining part of the third track have been finalised yet. To add to that, large-scale work will be carried out in Germany between 2025 and 2035 to replace and upgrade the infrastructure to European standards. This work could impact the capacity to build the third track, even after 2030.”
In this context, the German side has unfortunately still not been able to provide a planned completion date for the third track. Based in part on information obtained from ProRail, the current picture is that, depending on factors such as the further planning of large-scale construction in Germany, particularly for the period after 2030, a full connection of the Betuwe Line to the third track in Germany will not be completed within the next 10 years.
Aartsen says he deeply regrets this situation. “The completion of the third track is crucial for the Dutch railway network, particularly the Betuwe Line. I will reiterate this position in my contacts with German counterparts. In these discussions, I will also emphasise the importance of investments in other cross-border sections and the further development of international passenger and freight connections in terms of quality and quantity. Where possible, I want to intensify cooperation in order to achieve a concrete, planned completion date for the third track and to accelerate the work in Germany,” he concludes his letter to parliament. What the news means for the planned work in the Netherlands is still uncertain.
ProRail ‘not amused’
ProRail is equally unhappy with the news from Germany. “As part of the 80-week service period, DB InfraGO and ProRail agreed back in 2022 that no major service closures would be planned between Kijfhoek and Oberhausen via the Betuwe Line after the 80-week period from May 2026 until the end of 2027,” the Dutch infrastructure manager stated in a report addressed to Aartsen.
This is because the Netherlands can then carry out work on the routes from its ports to Venlo and Bad Bentheim (partly postponed due to the 80-week period), which are also of great importance to the Netherlands. These include ERTMS implementation, a renovation in Eindhoven, and one in Venlo. This was also shared with the parties in the third-track consulting group at the time, according to ProRail.
“In summary, ProRail and DB InfraGO have agreed that large-scale work on the third track cannot take place from mid-2026 to the end of 2027. Due to the decision in Germany regarding the work around Cologne, large-scale work on the third track cannot take place in 2028 and 2030. Working on the third track between 2026 and 2030 would mean that the Netherlands (for Rotterdam and other ports) would have very little rail connection to Germany.”
This article was originally published by our sister publication SpoorPro.nl.