Tackling ‘the bottleneck’ on the track between Meppel and Zwolle and the construction of the Lower Saxony line should be higher on the government’s list of priorities, says Member of Parliament Stieneke van der Graaf (ChristenUnie)
“The House of Representatives has shown that it supports the cabinet’s choices, but believes that the distribution is skewed,” Van der Graaf corrects the 7.5 billion that has been earmarked for improving road and rail in the Netherlands.
The widely shared criticism in the House of Representatives is that the North is lagging behind in the distribution of billions. The Northern Netherlands is ‘only’ allocated about 328 million. “More attention is being paid to the Randstad because of the major housing task, but too little to the North,” notes Van der Graaf, who particularly insists on the construction of the Nedersaksenlijn, a railway line between Groningen and Enschede, via Emmen.
“That would ensure good access to the border region, and is important for living, working and that young people, who now have to travel an hour and a half for their education, can continue to live at home.”
She also points to the rail junction at Meppel, a crucial point for the connection with the whole of the Northern Netherlands. If there are problems at Meppel, rail transport from the Randstad to the North will come to a complete standstill.
Omrop Fryslân spoke to Stieneke van der Graaf (Christian Union) Member of Parliament about what she considers to be an unequal distribution of the infrastructure billions:
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