“If we previously had to replace traces due to the end of the lifespan, the traces were often replaced one on one. Nowadays we look critically at what needs to be replaced,” says De Graaf. “Are the traces needed for the current or future timetable? Or is it here because it happened to have happened in the last 100 years?”
“Wissels also often produce malfunctions and therefore delays for trains. The fewer points, the less chance of malfunctions. And new overflow changes have been laid in the outskirts between Beilen and Hoogeveen.” According to Van der Graaf, there is no reduction in function.
Between Wijster and Hoogeveen, sleepers are renewed over the length of 4 kilometers. Those are the beams on which the rails lie. They are in the relevant kilometers of concrete. There are also work on the overhead line whose trains get their electricity.
Due to the work on the railway, a few crossings have been closed to traffic. Among other things, the Oosterring between Pesse and Zwartschaap is closed and the same applies to the level crossing between Beilen Center and Lieving / Makkum. Determination routes are indicated via signs. They can also be found on the site of road authorities.
Between Assen and Hoogeveen, buses ride from Saturday 15 to Friday 21 February instead of trains. NS uses buses on different routes. Not only between Assen and Hoogeveen, but also from Groningen.
Stop buses run between Assen, Beilen and Hoogeveen. NS uses express buses between Assen and Hoogeveen and between Groningen and Hoogeveen. Travelers between Zwolle and Groningen are advised to take the express bus between Groningen and Hoogeveen.