ProRail steps up inspections as heatwave triggers multiple infrastructure problems
ProRail is increasing its monitoring of the railway network during the heatwave. Alongside routine maintenance, additional so-called heat inspections are being carried out, a spokesperson said. Sections of track where maintenance work has recently taken place are subject to extra checks, with staff verifying that the rails remain securely in position. “These inspections are part of our standard procedures, but we step them up during periods of extreme heat,” the spokesperson added. The heat has also caused power outages and road issues across the country.
ProRail is working to prevent railway disruptions during periods of extreme heat. Both the tracks and electronic monitoring systems are vulnerable to high temperatures. Rails can expand by several millimetres, which in turn may cause problems with signals and points. In some cases, train services must be temporarily halted to allow faults to be resolved, the spokesperson said.
According to the spokesperson, railway bridges consist of multiple components that are vulnerable to high temperatures. On Thursday morning, a malfunction occurred at a railway bridge near Arnemuiden, causing both rail traffic and shipping to come to a halt. ProRail expects train operations to resume by Friday afternoon.
Sustained high temperatures have caused concrete on a road between Poortvliet and Sint-Annaland on the Zeeland island of Tholen to expand. According to Waterschap Scheldestromen, this has led to damage to several vehicles driving over the affected section.
The expansion of the concrete has caused sections of the road surface to rise. The Paasdijkweg and the adjacent Bram Groenewegenweg have therefore been partially closed at two points for the time being, although traffic is still able to pass. The authorities are advising drivers to proceed with extra caution.
From Monday, emergency repair work will start to restore the road to a safe condition.
In Noord-Holland, at least 15 movable bridges will remain closed and will not be operated between 10 a.m. and at least 9 p.m. through Sunday because of ongoing high temperatures.
The bridges will be kept shut to allow uninterrupted operation and avoid technical failures. According to authorities, heat causes materials to expand, which can lead to malfunctions and issues with properly closing the bridges.
In recent days, the bridges have already been cooled with water, but there were still many malfunctions “because it was impossible to keep up with the cooling,” a provincial spokesperson said. It was therefore decided not to open the bridges during the heat. Depending on how much the temperatures drop in the evening, it will be assessed when the bridges can be operated again.
The spokesperson said the situation is inconvenient for boat users whose vessels are too tall to pass beneath the bridges. It is not yet clear whether this is leading to significant disruption on the waterways. Commercial shipping is being informed of closures through dedicated communication channels. The province is responsible for 53 movable bridges, while additional bridges are managed by municipalities.
In part of Hoogkarspel in Noord-Holland, a power outage has been caused by a fire in an electrical cabinet. Because a care home is located in the affected area, the regional safety authority has scaled up the incident response, giving emergency services a higher priority level.
It is not known whether any problems have arisen in the care home, partly due to the heat. “They may have a backup generator,” said a spokesperson for the safety region.
As a result of the incident, 76 households are without electricity. According to the safety region, this is expected to last until around 7 p.m. “We ask affected households to take the power outage into account and, where necessary, make use of their own network of family, friends, or neighbours.”
