Another blow for Dutch train traffic: More speed limits on high-speed line
From Wednesday, the high-speed railway line will have even more speed limits due to cracks in the construction that were discovered in 2022. In five places, trains won’t be allowed to run faster than 80 kilometers per hour. “The new situation will lead to more delays for travelers and missed transfers,” NS said. It is investigating with ProRail whether the timetable needs adjustment.
Trains are supposed to run at 300 kilometers per hour on the high-speed line (HSL). However, during its construction, the viaducts were designed too light, making them too unstable to drive over at high speed. ProRail has already reduced the speed to 120 kilometers per hour on multiple viaducts. On Wednesday, the speed will be reduced further to 80 kilometers per hour on five viaducts.
NS considers the new speed reduction imposed by Infraspeed, the manager of the HSL, a major setback, the rail company said. “Instead of faster, travel times are becoming longer. These problems have been known for some time, but there is no prospect of a quick solution yet,” NS said. “If these are not resolved, future ambitions to run more often and faster may be jeopardized.”
ProRail said it regrets the situation, especially because the speed limit will likely mean that train trips take two to three minutes longer. “We may be forced to run fewer trains to ensure that the timetable remains stable,” the rail manager said. Earlier this year, NS and ProRail already reduced the number of trains on the HSL route from five to four per hour in both directions.
