Betuweroute
Encyclopedia
The Betuweroute is a double track
freight railway from Rotterdam
to Germany
. Betuweroute is the official name, after the Betuwe
area through which it passes, but the line is popularly referred to as Betuwelijn, after an older track in the same region. The Germans
have named their part the Hollandstrecke. Together they form Project nr. 5 of Trans-European Transport Networks
(TEN-T). It is among the most costly and most controversial large scale government projects ever constructed in the country.
, now a Commissioner in the European Union. In 1992 the German and Dutch governments signed the Treaty of Warnemünde
, a treaty on enhancing rail traffic, especially on the tracks from Amsterdam
and Rotterdam
to Duisburg
. The original plans foresaw three branches towards Germany. However, the northern branch via Oldenzaal was abandoned in 1999 and the southernmost track via Venlo
saw the axe in 2004. In the same year, the courts forbade the construction of a large logistics
centre near Valburg
.
Work on the Dutch part of the track began in 1998. Delayed by two years, the railway was finished mid 2007, at a cost of 4.7 billion euro
, more than two times the original budget of 2.3 billion euro, and more than quadruple the initial 1.1 billion euro estimate from 1990.
Private financing in the line, promoted by the government in a bid to offset the large and rising costs and stifle criticism about government funding, never materialized.
On June 16, 2007, Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands
presided over the opening ceremony for the section connecting Rotterdam 160 kilometres (99.4 mi) to the German border. Ignoring the TEN-T
and bilateral agreements, the Germans will not complete reconstruction of their section before 2015.
, via the conventional railway via Arnhem to Emmerich am Rhein, or via the border at Bad Bentheim
.)
, experts and politicians such as members of parliament were opposed to the Betuweroute. The Dutch Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management received 14,000 complaints against the northern branch alone, which was cancelled in 1999. GroenFront! (Green Front), one among dozens of activist groups, accounted for 35 confrontations in 1999-2001. The role of the government and ministers concerned was heavily criticised by university professors and official institutions.
The main concerns about the Betuweroute were:
Several parts of this Controversy section are based on a Dutch scientific investigation.
A lot of infrastructure was built or reconstructed to get the trains rolling. The most striking works:
to Zevenaar
, connecting the Europoort
to Germany
.
Compared with the previous rail route between Barendrecht
and Elst
the main deviations are:
Double track
A double track railway usually involves running one track in each direction, compared to a single track railway where trains in both directions share the same track.- Overview :...
freight railway from Rotterdam
Rotterdam
Rotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Starting as a dam on the Rotte river, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre...
to Germany
Transport in Germany
As a densely populated country in a central location in Europe and with a developed economy, Germany has a dense and modern transportation infrastructure....
. Betuweroute is the official name, after the Betuwe
Betuwe
The Betuwe is an area in the Netherlands in the province of Gelderland...
area through which it passes, but the line is popularly referred to as Betuwelijn, after an older track in the same region. The Germans
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
have named their part the Hollandstrecke. Together they form Project nr. 5 of Trans-European Transport Networks
Trans-European Transport Networks
The Trans-European Transport Networks are a planned set of road, rail, air and water transport networks designed to serve the entire continent of Europe. The TEN-T networks are part of a wider system of Trans-European Networks , including a telecommunications network and a proposed energy network...
(TEN-T). It is among the most costly and most controversial large scale government projects ever constructed in the country.
History
Preliminary investigations into the future of west-east transport began in 1985 by the Van Bonde commission. The main advocate of the line was the then minister Neelie KroesNeelie Kroes
Neelie Kroes is a Dutch politician of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy . She served as a Member of the House of Representatives from 3 August 1971 until 28 December 1977 when she became State Secretary for Transport, Public Works and Water Management from 28 December 1977 until 11...
, now a Commissioner in the European Union. In 1992 the German and Dutch governments signed the Treaty of Warnemünde
Warnemünde
Warnemünde is a sea resort and northmost district of Rostock in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, situated on the Baltic Sea in the northeast of Germany at the estuary of the river Warnow.- History :...
, a treaty on enhancing rail traffic, especially on the tracks from Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
and Rotterdam
Rotterdam
Rotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Starting as a dam on the Rotte river, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre...
to Duisburg
Duisburg
- History :A legend recorded by Johannes Aventinus holds that Duisburg, was built by the eponymous Tuisto, mythical progenitor of Germans, ca. 2395 BC...
. The original plans foresaw three branches towards Germany. However, the northern branch via Oldenzaal was abandoned in 1999 and the southernmost track via Venlo
Venlo
Venlo is a municipality and a city in the southeastern Netherlands, next to the German border. It is situated in the province of Limburg.In 2001, the municipalities of Belfeld and Tegelen were merged into the municipality of Venlo. Tegelen was originally part of the Duchy of Jülich centuries ago,...
saw the axe in 2004. In the same year, the courts forbade the construction of a large logistics
Logistics
Logistics is the management of the flow of goods between the point of origin and the point of destination in order to meet the requirements of customers or corporations. Logistics involves the integration of information, transportation, inventory, warehousing, material handling, and packaging, and...
centre near Valburg
Valburg
Valburg is a village in the Dutch province of Gelderland. It is located in the municipality of Overbetuwe, about 10 km northwest of Nijmegen.Valburg was a separate municipality until 2001, when it became part of Overbetuwe....
.
Euro
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
, more than two times the original budget of 2.3 billion euro, and more than quadruple the initial 1.1 billion euro estimate from 1990.
Private financing in the line, promoted by the government in a bid to offset the large and rising costs and stifle criticism about government funding, never materialized.
On June 16, 2007, Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands
Beatrix of the Netherlands
Beatrix is the Queen regnant of the Kingdom of the Netherlands comprising the Netherlands, Curaçao, Sint Maarten, and Aruba. She is the first daughter of Queen Juliana of the Netherlands and Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld. She studied law at Leiden University...
presided over the opening ceremony for the section connecting Rotterdam 160 kilometres (99.4 mi) to the German border. Ignoring the TEN-T
Trans-European Transport Networks
The Trans-European Transport Networks are a planned set of road, rail, air and water transport networks designed to serve the entire continent of Europe. The TEN-T networks are part of a wider system of Trans-European Networks , including a telecommunications network and a proposed energy network...
and bilateral agreements, the Germans will not complete reconstruction of their section before 2015.
Usage
Project management hopes to reach within five years a daily average of 150 freight trains. Due to problems with safety equipment, and the unfinished German connection, traffic was still slight as of December 2007. However, it increased steeply over the years 2008-2011. By mid-2011, 78% of all freight trains between Rotterdam and the German border took the Betuweroute (the rest travelled via VenloVenlo
Venlo is a municipality and a city in the southeastern Netherlands, next to the German border. It is situated in the province of Limburg.In 2001, the municipalities of Belfeld and Tegelen were merged into the municipality of Venlo. Tegelen was originally part of the Duchy of Jülich centuries ago,...
, via the conventional railway via Arnhem to Emmerich am Rhein, or via the border at Bad Bentheim
Bad Bentheim
Bad Bentheim is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany lying in the district of Grafschaft Bentheim on the borders with North Rhine-Westphalia and the Netherlands roughly 15 km south of Nordhorn and 20 km northeast of Enschede. It is also a state-recognized thermal brine and sulphur spa town,...
.)
Controversy
Before and during its construction many Dutch peopleDutch people
The Dutch people are an ethnic group native to the Netherlands. They share a common culture and speak the Dutch language. Dutch people and their descendants are found in migrant communities worldwide, notably in Suriname, Chile, Brazil, Canada, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, and the United...
, experts and politicians such as members of parliament were opposed to the Betuweroute. The Dutch Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management received 14,000 complaints against the northern branch alone, which was cancelled in 1999. GroenFront! (Green Front), one among dozens of activist groups, accounted for 35 confrontations in 1999-2001. The role of the government and ministers concerned was heavily criticised by university professors and official institutions.
The main concerns about the Betuweroute were:
- Cost - Even at the original budget of 2.3 billion euro, there was much discussion about economic viability. Initial hopes of attracting private investors turned out to be totally unfounded. In 2000 the Court of Audit convicted the government on having issued unrealistic forecasts about cost, environmental effects and usage of the Betuweroute, as well as insufficient cost control. They stated that promoting river transport should have been considered as a realistic alternative. In 2004 the Centraal Planbureau (Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis), concluded that the construction would never pay its way.
- Landscape - Fears of ravaging the Groene HartGroene HartThe Groene Hart is a relatively thinly populated area in the Dutch Randstad. The major Dutch cities of Rotterdam, Den Haag, Leiden, Haarlem, Amsterdam and Utrecht lie around this area...
and the BetuweBetuweThe Betuwe is an area in the Netherlands in the province of Gelderland...
. The Groene Hart (Green Heart) of the RandstadRandstadImage:Randstad_with_scale.png|400px|thumb|right|Clickable schematic map of the Randstadcircle 528 380 26 Schipholrect 426 356 498 436 Haarlemmermeerrect 399 166 479 245 Velsencircle 250 716 32 Delftcircle 220 642 60 The Hague...
is a more or less rural area amidst Holland's largest cities; the Betuwe is a less densely populated green region along the large Dutch rivers. Both feature classic Dutch polderPolderA polder is a low-lying tract of land enclosed by embankments known as dikes, that forms an artificial hydrological entity, meaning it has no connection with outside water other than through manually-operated devices...
landscape. The opposition to the original plans forced the construction of additional tunnels, driving the budget up further.
- EnvironmentalNatural environmentThe natural environment encompasses all living and non-living things occurring naturally on Earth or some region thereof. It is an environment that encompasses the interaction of all living species....
issues - Worries about noise, dangerous chemical spills and the fragmentation of animal habitatHabitat* Habitat , a place where a species lives and grows*Human habitat, a place where humans live, work or play** Space habitat, a space station intended as a permanent settlement...
s caused many environmentalists and neighbours to fiercely resist the new track. In response, extra noise insulation panels, tunnels and wildlife passages were built.
- Alternatives - As the Court of Audit concluded in its 2000 report, river transport was and still is a realistic alternative. It is cheaper, more flexible, safer and not much slower. The Dutch bargeBargeA barge is a flat-bottomed boat, built mainly for river and canal transport of heavy goods. Some barges are not self-propelled and need to be towed by tugboats or pushed by towboats...
fleet is the largest and among the most modern in Europe, well capable of handling the transport to the German industrial heartland, nearly without any investment by the government. Great Dutch rivers (the MerwedeMerwedeThe Merwede is the name of several interconnected stretches of river in The Netherlands, all part of the Rhine-Meuse-Scheldt delta. The Meuse river joins the Waal at Woudrichem to form the Boven Merwede...
, the Waal and parts of the Rhine, Maas (Meuse)Meuse RiverThe Maas or Meuse is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea...
, IJsselIJsselRiver IJssel , sometimes called Gelderse IJssel to avoid confusion with its Hollandse IJssel namesake in the west of the Netherlands, is a branch of the Rhine in the Dutch provinces of Gelderland and Overijssel...
and LekLek RiverThe Lek is a river in the western Netherlands of some 60 km in length. It is the continuation of the Nederrijn after the Kromme Rijn branches off at the town of Wijk bij Duurstede. The main westbound waterway is hereafter called the Lek River...
) run roughly alongside the Betuweroute. The same goes for the A15A15 motorway (Netherlands)The Dutch Rijksweg 15 is a set of two motorways in the Netherlands, the A15 and the A18. The map on the right-hand side shows these two parts of this Rijksweg 15.- Connection between A15 and A18 :...
, an excellent albeit congested highway, which parallels the railway for 95 kilometres (59 mi).
Several parts of this Controversy section are based on a Dutch scientific investigation.
Specifications and features
- The route is electrified at 25 kV AC25 kV ACThe 25 kV Alternating current railway electrification system is commonly used in railways worldwide, especially for high-speed rail.-Overview:This electrification system is ideal for railways that cover long distances and/or carry heavy traffic...
and signalled using the ERTMS2European Rail Traffic Management SystemThe European Rail Traffic Management System is an initiative backed by the European Union to enhance cross-border interoperability and signalling procurement by creating a single Europe-wide standard for train control and command systems....
standard. Electrification complies to new European standards, but current Dutch locomotives can not use the line, as they use a different voltage. The German section of the route does not comply with the new ERTMS2 standards, thus severely limiting usability of the track. First new-spec locomotive delivered to RailionRailionDB Schenker Rail is a European railway cargo carrier. The company was formed from the freight operating section of the Deutsche Bahn DB Cargo with the addition of various European rail freight operating companies.In December 2007 Railion became part of the DB Schenker logistics group, itself a...
December 2007. - Tunnels, electrification and other parts of the railway are engineered to be 4,10 m wide and 6,15 m high in order to allow double stacked container trains, although no such trains will be in use for years to come.
- For the section from RotterdamRotterdamRotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Starting as a dam on the Rotte river, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre...
to the large classification yard KijfhoekKijfhoek (classification yard)Kijfhoek classification yard is a hump yard type freight rail yard near Rotterdam, The Netherlands. The rail yard is named to the nearby small village Kijfhoek, now belonging to the municipality Zwijndrecht. With an area of 50 hectares Kijfhoek is the largest of the few railway yards left in the...
existing track was reconstructed, but three quarters of the line is new, from Kijfhoek to ZevenaarZevenaarZevenaar is a municipality and a city in the eastern Netherlands, near the border with Germany.- Population centres :*Angerlo*Babberich*Giesbeek*Lathum*Ooy*Oud Zevenaar*Zevenaar...
near the German border. - Total length of noise insulation panels on both sides is 160 kilometres (99.4 mi), the same as the track length.
- Roll bars along the track keep derailed cars from toppling.
- 5 tunnels and several roofed sections add up to a length of 20 kilometres (12.4 mi).
- 190 passages for crossing wildlifeWildlifeWildlife includes all non-domesticated plants, animals and other organisms. Domesticating wild plant and animal species for human benefit has occurred many times all over the planet, and has a major impact on the environment, both positive and negative....
. - 130 bridges and viaducts, no level crossings.
- Capacity for 10 trains per hour in each direction, when the German-section signalling and other infrastructure is updated.
Infrastructure
- container terminalContainer terminalA container terminal is a facility where cargo containers are transshipped between different transport vehicles, for onward transportation. The transshipment may be between container ships and land vehicles, for example trains or trucks, in which case the terminal is described as a maritime...
s in Rotterdam: Rail Service Centre MaasvlakteMaasvlakteThe Maasvlakte is part of Europoort, a harbour and industrial area near the city of Rotterdam in the Netherlands.-Creation:It was created in the 1960s by reclaiming land from the North Sea through dykes and sand suppletion. The sand for the suppletion was largely taken from the North Sea and the...
, Rail Service Centre WaalhavenWaalhaventhumb|right|250px|Waalhaven Airport in 1932, with the [[LZ 127 Graf Zeppelin|Graf Zeppelin]] in the background.The Waalhaven is one of various harbours in the Port of Rotterdam in the Netherlands and used to be home to an airport, Vliegveld Waalhaven . It was the first civilian airport in the...
, and Maasvlakte 2 - The 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) long BotlekBotlekthumb|right|[[Satellite]] [[image]] of the [[Rhine]]-[[Meuse River|Meuse]] [[river delta|delta]] showing the Botlek .The Botlek originally was the name of a stretch of the Nieuwe Maas river, part of the Rhine-Meuse delta near the Dutch cities of Vlaardingen and Spijkenisse in the province of...
spoortunnel under Rotterdam harbour replaces the antiquated Botlek bridge, which remains in service as backup and for regional traffic. Space around the tunnel was so constrained that, after completing the first tube, the tunnel boring machineTunnel boring machineA tunnel boring machine also known as a "mole", is a machine used to excavate tunnels with a circular cross section through a variety of soil and rock strata. They can bore through anything from hard rock to sand. Tunnel diameters can range from a metre to almost 16 metres to date...
had to be dismantled inside the tube. The parts were then returned to the starting point and reassembled to bore the second tube. - Reconstructed classification yard KijfhoekKijfhoek (classification yard)Kijfhoek classification yard is a hump yard type freight rail yard near Rotterdam, The Netherlands. The rail yard is named to the nearby small village Kijfhoek, now belonging to the municipality Zwijndrecht. With an area of 50 hectares Kijfhoek is the largest of the few railway yards left in the...
between BarendrechtBarendrechtBarendrecht is a town in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality had a population of 43,104 in 2007, and covers an area of 21.72 km² of which 1.45 km² is water....
and ZwijndrechtZwijndrechtZwijndrecht may refer to:* Zwijndrecht, Belgium* Zwijndrecht, Netherlands...
. - Barendrecht railway stationBarendrecht railway stationBarendrecht railway station is a railway station in Barendrecht, the Netherlands, located on the Breda–Rotterdam railway between Rotterdam and Dordrecht. Adjacent to the four tracks of this line are two tracks for the HSL-Zuid and three for freight, as part of the Betuweroute freight route to...
, where 9 tracks are in a 1.5 kilometre (0.93205910497471 mi) long structure, much of it covered under a layer of earth, to keep noise at bay. On top is a new city park. At the station itself 4 of the tracks, with the platforms, have a glass roof. Nearby tracks cross on two levels. - Tunnel under Pannerdensch KanaalPannerdenPannerden is a village in the Dutch province of Gelderland. It is located in the municipality of Rijnwaarden.Pannerden was a separate municipality from 1818 to 1985, when it became a part of the new municipality of Rijnwaarden.-External links:*...
near AngerenAngerenAngeren is a village in the Netherlands in the municipality of Lingewaard. It has a population of 2,851 , and is located in the very eastern tip of the Betuwe, 2 km to the south of Huissen, between the cities of Arnhem and Nijmegen.Angeren is first mentioned as Angrina in a document dated 814...
. Instead of the projected bridge, a 2.7 kilometres (1.7 mi) tunnel was bored, to spare landscape and environment. The tunnel entrances were designed to blend in with the landscape. The tunnel itself has large lock doors at each end, to prevent a flood on one side of the canal inundating the region on the opposite bank. Because two endangered animal species were found in the vicinity of the tunnel, a new habitat was laid out for the Great crested newtGreat Crested NewtThe Great Crested Newt, also called Northern Crested Newt or Warty Newt is a newt in the family Salamandridae, found across Europe and parts of Asia.-Distribution:...
and the Natterjack ToadNatterjack ToadThe Natterjack Toad is a toad native to sandy and heathland areas of Europe. Adults are 60–70 mm in length and are distinguished from Common Toads by a yellow line down the middle of the back...
, as this video shows.
Route
The route is a direct line from the MaasvlakteMaasvlakte
The Maasvlakte is part of Europoort, a harbour and industrial area near the city of Rotterdam in the Netherlands.-Creation:It was created in the 1960s by reclaiming land from the North Sea through dykes and sand suppletion. The sand for the suppletion was largely taken from the North Sea and the...
to Zevenaar
Zevenaar
Zevenaar is a municipality and a city in the eastern Netherlands, near the border with Germany.- Population centres :*Angerlo*Babberich*Giesbeek*Lathum*Ooy*Oud Zevenaar*Zevenaar...
, connecting the Europoort
Europoort
Europoort is an area of the Port of Rotterdam and the adjoining industrial area in the Netherlands. Being situated at the mouth of the rivers Rhine and Meuse with the hinterland consisting of the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium and partly France, Europoort is by certain measurements the world's...
to Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
.
Compared with the previous rail route between Barendrecht
Barendrecht
Barendrecht is a town in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality had a population of 43,104 in 2007, and covers an area of 21.72 km² of which 1.45 km² is water....
and Elst
Overbetuwe
Overbetuwe is a municipality in the province of Gelderland in the Netherlands. It was formed on 1 January 2001 as a merger of three former municipalities: Elst, Heteren and Valburg. Overbetuwe is bordered in the north by the river Rhine and in the south by the river Waal. The city hall is located...
the main deviations are:
- Line now north of Zwijndrecht and PapendrechtPapendrechtPapendrecht is a town and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland, at the crossing of the River Beneden Merwede and the Noord River...
- Line now north of GorinchemGorinchemGorinchem , also called Gorkum , is a city and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality covers an area of 21.99 km² of which 3.03 km² is water...
and south of LeerdamLeerdamLeerdam is a city and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland.The municipality covers an area of 34.32 km² of which 0.53 km² is water. It comprises the town of Leerdam, the rural villages Kedichem, Schoonrewoerd and Oosterwijk. The south border of the... - Line now north of TielTiel' is a municipality and a town in the middle of the Netherlands.The town is enclosed by the Waal river and the Linge river on the south and the north side, and the Amsterdam-Rhine Canal on the east side. The city was founded in the 5th century AD....
- From the south side of ElstElstElst is the name of a number of towns:*Elst; a village and former municipality, now part of Overbetuwe, in Gelderland*Elst; a village in the municipality of Rhenen, in the province of Utrecht*Elst; a village in the municipality of Maasdonk, in North Brabant...
the line runs straight to ZevenaarZevenaarZevenaar is a municipality and a city in the eastern Netherlands, near the border with Germany.- Population centres :*Angerlo*Babberich*Giesbeek*Lathum*Ooy*Oud Zevenaar*Zevenaar...
.
Municipalities
Municipalities along Betuweroute:
|
Hardinxveld-Giessendam Hardinxveld-Giessendam is a municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality had a population of 17,828 in 2004, and covers an area of 19.35 km² of which 2.44 km² is water.... Heerjansdam Heerjansdam is a village in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. It has a population of 3,590. It is a former municipality that merged with Zwijndrecht in 2003.-History:... Hendrik-Ido-Ambacht Hendrik-Ido-Ambacht is a town and municipality in the western Netherlands. It is located in the Dutch province of South Holland, on the island of IJsselmonde, and borders with Zwijndrecht, Ridderkerk, and the Noord River. The jurisdiction of the municipality covers an area of 11.99 km² of... Lingewaal Lingewaal is a municipality in the middle of the Netherlands.-External links:**----... Lingewaard Lingewaard is a municipality in the eastern Netherlands. It is located in the most eastern part of the Betuwe. It was formed in 2001 as a merger between Bemmel, Gendt and Huissen... Neder-Betuwe Neder-Betuwe is a municipality in the eastern Netherlands.-Geography:The municipal boundaries are for a large part defined by the river Waal to the south, the river Rhine to the North and the Amsterdam-Rhine Canal to the west... Neerijnen Neerijnen is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands. It is about 35 km south of Utrecht and some 15 km north of 's-Hertogenbosch.- Population centres :... |
Overbetuwe Overbetuwe is a municipality in the province of Gelderland in the Netherlands. It was formed on 1 January 2001 as a merger of three former municipalities: Elst, Heteren and Valburg. Overbetuwe is bordered in the north by the river Rhine and in the south by the river Waal. The city hall is located... Papendrecht Papendrecht is a town and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland, at the crossing of the River Beneden Merwede and the Noord River... Rijnwaarden Rijnwaarden is a municipality in the eastern Netherlands. The Rhine enters the Netherlands in this municipality.- Population centres :*Aerdt*Herwen*Lobith*Pannerden*Spijk*Tolkamer- External links :**... Rotterdam Rotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Starting as a dam on the Rotte river, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre... Sliedrecht Sliedrecht is a town and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality covers an area of .... Tiel ' is a municipality and a town in the middle of the Netherlands.The town is enclosed by the Waal river and the Linge river on the south and the north side, and the Amsterdam-Rhine Canal on the east side. The city was founded in the 5th century AD.... Zevenaar Zevenaar is a municipality and a city in the eastern Netherlands, near the border with Germany.- Population centres :*Angerlo*Babberich*Giesbeek*Lathum*Ooy*Oud Zevenaar*Zevenaar... |
Train path tariff
Unlike other Dutch rail network tariffs, the usage charge to train operators for the Betuwe rail line is calculated without reference to train weight. Between 2008 and 2011 has increased, progressively, from €1.41 per train kilometer to €2.33 per train kilometer.External links
- Betuweroute official website
- Headlines. (DutchDutch languageDutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
) - Tunnel under Pannerdensch Kanaal (DutchDutch languageDutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
) - Decision process and construction of Betuweroute, 1985-2007 (GermanGerman languageGerman is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
)