The Maas line, the track between Nijmegen and Roermond, will be thoroughly renewed in the coming years. On Monday, an impressive machine settled in Cuijk: De Ru800S, better known as ‘The Lady’. This gigantic train is more than a kilometer long, five meters high and can replace up to two hundred meters of track in one hour.
According to ProRail project manager Christiaan Caan, the Maas line is ready for innovation. “There is still a diesel train on this track, but ultimately modern, electric trains have to run here.”
Faster trains and less delay
That is why the sleepers are being replaced, overhead lines come along the entire route and the track in Cuijk and Boxmeer, among others, is doubled, so that trains can pass each other there more easily. New switches will also be placed and curves are expanded, so that trains will be able to run faster.
These measures must ensure a more sustainable and faster process, but also a more reliable timetable with fewer delays.
Moving Rail Factory
The work on the track is being carried out by ‘The Lady’, a moving rail factory of the Austrian company Swietelsky. At a speed of about 200 meters per hour, the train lifts the old track, sucks and cleans the ballast, and lays down new sleepers with rubber flaps.
According to Wesley van Felius, employee at Swietelsky, these flaps reduce the vibrations that local residents experience when a train passes.
The nickname ‘The Lady’ owes the machine to its 24-person crew. “The Austrian employees treat the machine as if it were a woman,” says Van Felius. “They take good care of her and ensure that she always looks great.”
No trains
In the coming days ‘The Lady’ will place the new Dwarsliggers in Cuijk, so that the upper lines can be placed later in the project. Therefore, there will be no trains between Mook-Molenhoek and Venlo until next Monday.
Now that train traffic is still, Cuijk station is also being tackled. This way the pedestrian passage and the ramp are improved, making the station more accessible and safer.
Traffic more often blocked
The renewal of the Maas line is a long -term project. In the future, travelers will have to deal with still train traffic even more often.
The train traffic in the Brabant part of the process is expected to be blocked several times, of which twice for a whole month. If everything goes according to plan, the first electric train runs on the renewed Maas line at the end of 2027.