To build the Lelylijn and develop the area along it, the government must save at least 400 million euros every year in a separate fund for 25 years, according to Lelylijn envoy Klaas Knot.
Knot assumes that the region and private parties will also contribute to the new railway line. To get the 14.5 billion on the table, 600 million euros per year is actually needed. But since construction will take some time, 400 million is sufficient in this phase, according to Knot.
“The honest story is that building a new railway line costs a lot of money,” he said. “The Lely Line is necessary for national cohesion, better accessibility and economic structure reinforcement. For the Lely Line you have to look beyond economic returns.”
The estimate of the costs of 14.5 billion is ‘robust’, according to Knot. “We’re on the safe side.” According to Knot, the Netherlands currently has insufficient financial resources to build a long new railway line such as the Lely Line.
The Lely Line is not mentioned in the coalition agreement of the new cabinet of D66, CDA and VVD presented on Friday. Klaas Knot is not too concerned about that. “A decision to save 400 million euros for infrastructure requires careful preparation, you don’t just do that.”
The new cabinet does plan to invest more money in infrastructure, but the Lely Line is not mentioned among the projects to be tackled.
