Over €1b for rail ugrades in Amsterdam, Gelderland, Brabant

State Secretary Wilma Mansveld of Infrastructure and Environment has announced that €1.1 billion will be made available for improve train transport. After discussions with regional governors, it has been decided that certain aspects of train travel have to be made to a higher standard. At Amsterdam Central Station, for example, the platforms will be improved to make it easier for passengers to get on and off trains. In Vught, arrangements have been made about a deeper track. Not just passenger trains, but also trains carrying goods will be provided with plans such as the creation of a goods route in the East. "With this investment we make the rail ready for the future", Mansveld says. In Amsterdam, there is an emphasis on bigger capacity and better quality of the station as well as the rails. Platforms will be broadened as will the tunnel under the station. There will be escalators, and the network of tracks will become more streamlined. In total, at lease €431 million will be spent on developing the Amsterdam Central Station alone. The bridge on the east side of the station will be replaced to allow for extra train travel to Utrecht, Eindhoven and between Schiphol and Lelystad. Changing from train to bus, tram and metro is also going to become quicker and more comfortable for passengers. In Vught, the train tracks will be sunk deeper into the ground so as to make the train traffic less disturbing to local residents along the tracks between Utrecht and Eindhoven. The Kingdom will also put in 50 percent of the funds to tackle the train tracks in Haaren. Goods transport via the Brabant route, over Dordrecht, Breda and Tilburg, to the Betuwe route will be replaced. A new track link will be placed via an arc at Meteren. This way, residents of the Brabant route will have less disturbance. The extra room on the Brabant route will then be used for passenger traffic from Brabant to the Randstad. For this, €703 million has been reserved.