Plans for two key Northern Netherlands rail lines are not dead yet, says minister

State Secretary of Infrastructure and Water Management, Chris Jansen, has not made a definitive decision about whether the plans for the Lelylijn and the Nedersaksenlijn can go to the next phase. The two railway lines are meant to improve the connection in the northern part of the country, but the projects are short billions of euros. “I am going to continue working on it positively,” he said in a statement.

Representatives of the provinces came to The Hague on Wednesday for talks about infrastructure. Friesland, Groningen, and Drenthe hoped to be told that the so-called “reconnaissance” of the Lelylijn and the Nedersaksenlijn could begin, Dutch media outlets reported. They were disappointed that Jansen did not tell them this.

It is unclear when Jansen will make a concrete decision. His spokesperson did not say that the two railway lines are on hold until then. “People are working hard to sort out all the options.” There will be a new consultation before the end of the year.

A possible 10 billion euros more may be needed for the Lelylijn than the former Cabinet had set aside for the project. Only 85 million euros is currently available for the Nedersaksenlijn compared to the 1.7 billion euros that the project is expected to cost.

Three-quarters of the total costs are needed to enter the next phase, and both railway lines are far from achieving that. Jansen showed in a debate last month that he sees little room to deviate from the norm. " There are still 100 projects in the queue that want exactly the same thing."