More money is needed to run a cross-border passenger train between Coevorden and Bad Bentheim, part of the Emmen – Rheine rail connection. It is not about extra money for construction but for operation.
Drenthe has 150,000 available annually as operating contribution from 2025, but that amount must be increased by 350,000 euros per year.
Because the hard operating contribution has now been worked out by the Bentheimer Eisenbahn (BE) in collaboration with the province of Drenthe and the Landesnahverkehrsgesellschaft (LNVG). On the German side, 14,500,000 million is invested in exploitation every year. An annual contribution of 500,000 euros is required for the Dutch part. The Germans will therefore soon pay 97 percent and the Netherlands 3 percent of the operating costs.
The Drenthe multi-year budget takes into account a contribution to the operation, but with a lower amount. But friend and enemy in the Provincial Council (PS) agree: do it. Whoever says a must say b. Only the PVV is against.
In addition to more money for the operation of the railway, Drenthe will increase the money for making the existing freight railway line suitable for passenger transport by 15,200,000 euros over the years 2025 and 2026. Drenthe must ‘advance’ this amount because it is still waiting for a contribution that has already been promised from the government.
The Hague is making millions available for the necessary adjustments to Coevorden station and the Dutch part of the rail connection, but this has yet to be completed. In order not to delay the work on the track, Drenthe will now advance that money itself.
But the government is not prepared to make a structural contribution to any further contribution, except for Coevorden, because it concerns a cross-border regional rail connection. Some factions in PS find this nonsense argument, because almost all cross-border rail connections are (also) regional connections and that involves government money. Deputy Henk Jumelet agrees. If this section of track soon becomes part of the Lower Saxony line, you are talking about a supra-regional connection.
Isn’t there already a railway line? What about this? It was September 1939 when the last passenger train left Coevorden for Bad Bentheim. This must be reversed by 2026. The regional railway line to Bad Bentheim also saw less and less service in German territory. In 1974, passenger transport disappeared there. Buses became better and more comfortable, faster and the infrastructure is less expensive.
Many regional railway lines in Germany were closed or only low-speed freight transport remained. This also applies to the railway line from Coevorden to Bad Bentheim.
But that changed about ten years ago. More and more road traffic, public transport bus traffic that is reaching its capacity limits and increasing emissions and nuisance from road traffic made Germany think about reactivating previously closed railway lines. This also applies to Bad Bentheim – Coevorden.
The trains on the Bad Bentheim – Neuenhaus section have been running again since 2019. And with success. Not the expected 1,700, but 2,200 to 2,500 travelers use it per day. It is expected that driving to Coevorden will bring in 900 to 1,000 travelers per day.
The railway line from Neuenhaus to Coevorden must be renovated and upgraded in 2025 and 2026. For this purpose, almost 28 million euros will be invested on the Dutch side, the rest of the 650,000 euros needed will come from Germany. It will not be possible to have the train running at the beginning of 2026, but that will probably be at the end of that year or at the beginning of 2027.