An important piece of history. For example, the municipality of Geertruidenberg mentions the Langstraatspoorlijn, better known as the Halvezolenlijntje. To keep the heritage for future generations, the municipality wants to make the railway line that ran from Lage Zwaluwe, via Geertruidenberg and Waalwijk, to Den Bosch again. Elements of the former railway line in Geertruidenberg must therefore be restored.
“We see preserving this unique heritage as valuable,” says a municipal spokesperson about the plans, in which, among other things, attention is paid to the historic swing bridge over the Donge. The only existing rotating railway bridge in the Netherlands. According to the municipality, this must have a national monument status so that the bridge can be better maintained.
Also, when it comes to the railway bridge, a re -use as a hiking trail is considered. As happened at the Moerputtenspoorbrug in Den Bosch, also part of the Halvezolenlijntje.
If it is up to the municipality, the old station in Geertruidenberg will again be a recognizable place for everyone. Thanks to a work of art or information boards, for example, because the station building was demolished in 1963. After the passenger transport stopped in 1950, the Dutch Railways decided to demolish the station building. Maintenance for a building that no longer had a function was too expensive. “It was a striking building. That makes it a pity that it is no longer there,” says the spokesperson for the municipality.
The half -sun line explained
The nickname Halvezolenlijntje owes the Langstraat railway line on the shoe industry. Salf -finished manufactures were transported over the track, which was therefore called the half -sun line. “It is one of the few visible connections with the Langstraat and the shoe history for the municipality of Geertruidenberg,” explains a spokesperson for the municipality. The nickname also refers to the single railway line, while a double was planned.
The railway line was in use from 1886 to 1950 and was fully financed with yields from the Dutch East Indies colony. Due to the Cold War, the Ministry of Defense wanted to keep the railway line open for any military transports. As a result, freight trains drove over it until 1972. A part of the track from Lage Zwaluwe to the Weststad business park in Oosterhout, has again had that function since 1979.
The money
From next year, municipalities will receive considerable money from the government to perform their duties. As a result, a financial canyon year threatens. As a result, Geertruidenberg currently has no room to free up extra budget for the ambitious plans. It must therefore fit within the current available resources or be arranged with external financing, the spokesperson said. How much money is needed depends on which projects are ultimately picked up.
Visible elements
But that the plans can be realized, the municipality of Waalwijk proved earlier. There are still many elements of the former railway line and the past of the shoe industry. For example, the Halvezolenpark was built, with a length of 5.7 kilometers. There is also 250 meters of track, near the railway bridge to Drunen. And from Drunen to Raamsdonksveer you can walk and cycle over a distance of more than twenty kilometers over the former railway line. Artworks, old stations and guard houses along the walking and cycling path still remind us of the railway line.
Opportunities, feasibility and obstacles
The cultural history and the stories that the Halvezolenlijntje entails, therefore, would like to retain and restore the municipality of Geertruidenberg. The opportunities, feasibility and obstacles for the plans have therefore been investigated by a consultancy. According to them, highways and houses along the old railway line are challenges that can stand in the way of the effect of the plans. “At the same time, adjacent villages and landscapes offer plenty of opportunities to tell the story of the railway line again,” concludes the consultancy.
