ProRail

A motorist was killed in a collision with a train at a guarded rail crossing in the Limburg town of Haelen on Wednesday evening. The passenger of the car was rushed to hospital with serious injuries. None of the people on the train were hurt, the police said in a statement.

The accident happened at around 7:45 p.m. on the level crossing on Roermondseweg in Haelen, near Roermond. So far nothing is known about the victims' identity.

A passenger train derailment in Voorburg on Thursday was expected to interrupt scheduled service on the train route between The Hague and Utrecht through the night. There were no injuries among the passengers on the NS Intercity train when it went off the rails, according to rail infrastructure firm ProRail.

A soaking wet train passenger and two others suffering from symptoms of hypothermia prompted an emergency response to Venlo, Limburg. One man had fallen into water in Eindhoven, and was pulled out by two others, a spokesperson for the fire department told AD. All three men are from Tanzania, and were taken to an area hospital for medical care, the police said in a separate statement.

The foundation of the Dutch rail network is in many places not suitable to run trains faster and at higher frequency, a spokesperson for ProRail confirmed to NU.nl after TU Delft professor Rolf Dollevoet raised concerns in the Telegraaf. If the rails become even busier, some parts of the foundation could collapse.

The government can solve the nitrogen emission problem by making public transit a more attractive option with a massive investment, according to NS and ProRail. The rail manager and -company propose that the government invest over 20.6 billion euros in the railways until 2040, for dozens of improvements, AD reports.

The organizations want to shorten the travel time from Leeuwarden and Groningen to the Randstad by making adjustments to the Hanze line, for example. Train journeys from Twente, Nijmegen and Vlissingen can also be up to 30 minutes faster with specific adjustments

Damaged overhead lines between Hoofddorp and Leiden left three trains stranded on Thursday, ProRail reported. Around 1,400 passengers were evacuated. The stranded trains are currently being towed away.

"The contractor is currently inspecting the damage", ProRail said. "How long the repairs will take is not yet known." No trains are currently running between Hoofddorp and Leiden. "ProRail regrets the inconvenience for all travelers on this route."

The public transit sector, cities and transport regions drew up long-term plans to make sure train transport can cope with the strong growth in passengers in the future. At least 20 billion euros will be needed for their plans, which span from 2020 towards 2040, the Telegraaf reports based on wish lists from the sector. 

The most overcrowded train in the country runs between Oss and 's-Hertogenbosch Oost, according to NS. This sprinter that departs at 7:43 a.m. is around 40 percent more crowded than the maximum capacity of the train every day, with the exception of the weekend. The train that runs on this rout at 8:31 a.m. is also very popular, running at 28 percent over capacity every day, NOS reports.

The largest bicycle parking garage in the world is opening in Utrecht on Monday. With 12,656 parking spaces, including 480 spaces for larger or oddly shaped bicycles like cargo bikes and tandems, the parking facility on Utrecht's station square easily breaks the previous record, held by a bike parking garage in Tokyo with 9,400 parking spaces, Trouw reports.

"From abroad, they look with jealousy at everything we do here for cycling", project leader Lidwien van Kessel of ProRail said to the newspaper. "We are at the forefront here." 

Travelers association Rover wants rail manager ProRail and rail company NS to do more to make sure customers are inconvenienced as little as possible during rail works and breakdowns. The association made a number of recommendations on how to achieve this, including improving information provision to travelers, compensation for inconvenience, and using longer trains.

With extremely hot weather expected in the coming days, rail manager ProRail and public works department Rijkswaterstaat are taking extra measures to ensure that traffic flows as smoothly as possible. Temperatures above 35 degrees are expected, which can cause problems on both the road and the tracks. A number of events are also taking measures, NOS and NU.nl report.