The province of Limburg and the municipality of Maastricht want substantial compensation from Flanders after the decision to definitively pull the plug on the plans for a tram connection between Maastricht and Hasselt. Both parties announced this on Tuesday.
The Flemish government decided on Monday after 18 years on the project and dismissed the plans for a cross-border tram.
Also read: Plan tram Maastricht-Hasselt after 18 years in the trash
Money first, then look further
An electric trambus may run between the two cities in the future, but first the Dutch governments want to make agreements about compensation for the costs incurred. “We have incurred more than 20 million euros in costs and we want to be compensated for this as much as possible, including the municipality and the central government,” said deputy Maarten van Gaans (D66). “We have concluded agreements with Flanders and agreements have also been made about this. We have made considerable investments on the Dutch side, so we will first have to make agreements about how we can achieve compensation.”
The Maastricht alderman Gert-Jan Krabbendam also wants to talk about compensation before looking at a future cross-border connection. “We will now first have to settle this properly. That has the highest priority for us,” says the alderman.
According to the alderman and the deputy, all parties – including the Flemish government – agree that the matter must be dealt with quickly. They will meet again in mid-June to discuss an agreement.
From ambition to headache
The ambitious plan for the tram connection between Maastricht and Hasselt was launched in 2004, but it gradually grew into a headache. In the first plan, the tram would run from Hasselt station to Maastricht station. That ultimately failed because a problem arose with the Wilhelmina Bridge in Maastricht: the bridge turned out to be not strong enough for a tram, so the route was shortened to the Markt. Flanders did not agree and received financial compensation from Maastricht and the province of six million euros.
Later on, a problem arose in Hasselt: the tram would not be able to drive there either as far as the station. Politicians in Flanders increasingly doubted the feasibility and the tram project came into question. On Monday, Flemish minister Lydia Peeters made the decision after years: the tram is definitely off the track.
In this video you can see an overview of the history of the plans for the tram connection: