Moerdijk bridge tracks to be replaced next year; consequences for train traffic uncertain

The train tracks on the Moerdijk bridge will be completely replaced in the second quarter of next year, ProRail announced. The work will take up to 20 days, during which no train traffic will be possible over the bridge, ANP reports. At this stage it is still unclear whether the work will be done over 20 consecutive days, or whether it will be done in several short bursts. ProRail is discussing this, and the consequences it will have on train traffic, with the public transporters and several experts. According to ProRail, a number of weld points on the railway bridge are broken or show defects. These defects were the root of several recent problems on the bridge. "To solve the problems structurally, ProRail wants to replace the rails and welding points as a whole", according to the rail manager. In the near future ProRail will do smaller maintenance on a number of welding points. This will be done at night and on weekends to keep the inconvenience to travelers as small as possible.