News item | 13-01-2026 | 12:02
Despite major financial shortages, the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management continues to work on the accessibility of the Netherlands. Today, Minister Robert Tieman and State Secretary Thierry Aartsen will present the results of consultations between the government and the region on the Multi-Year Infrastructure, Spatial Planning and Transport Program (MIRT).
During last week’s consultations, the government, provinces, water boards and municipalities made agreements about investments in our infrastructure. This includes some nice milestones from current projects. Unfortunately, no major new construction projects could be announced. This is because more and more money has to be spent on maintenance and renovation of existing infrastructure. In addition, current projects are experiencing financial setbacks, for example due to increased costs due to inflation and tightness on the labor market. If we do not keep our infrastructure in order, this will lead to unexpected disruptions and shutdowns. This will put further pressure on accessibility and mobility in the Netherlands.
In the future, less and less money will also be available, while the demand for mobility is increasing. Was mid last year calculated that the maintenance deficit amounts to more than €36 billion: €1.8 billion for ProRail (rail) and €34.5 billion for Rijkswaterstaat (roads, waterways and water system).
Minister of Infrastructure and Water Management Robert Tieman: “It’s a sour apple this year. Major construction projects are needed to keep the Netherlands accessible in the long term, but that is not possible at the moment due to limited financial resources, little nitrogen space and tightness on the labor market. Necessary maintenance projects are also affected by this. It is up to the next government to make choices when it comes to investments in infrastructure. In the meantime, we are doing what we can with the money that is available. And a few nice milestones have been achieved on current projects. For example in the field of freight transport where we have been able to link € 106 million to various projects.”
State Secretary for Infrastructure and Water Management Thierry Aartsen: “Good infrastructure keeps our society running. It is great that we have been able to make urgent investments in the areas of public transport, rail and housing. These are great results. But more attention is needed for the structural importance of our infrastructure. We face an enormous challenge to maintain the infrastructure and make it resilient. Sharp choices are needed for a strong and resilient Netherlands and so that more new homes can be built, our economy can grow and people can travel quickly and reliably.”
€280 million for better traffic flow on national highways
€280 million will be invested in better traffic flow on highways. This concerns, for example, small but important measures such as improving the exits, making some connections grade-separated, improving intersections and roundabouts and improving regional connecting roads near the highway. The government is contributing, among other things, €17 million to building a flyover over the Gieten traffic circle and €19 million to making exit 55 of the A2 near Maastricht safer.
MIRT projects A27, A6 and N33
With the provision of a (supplementary) budget by the government, steps are being taken to improve the accessibility of Flevoland and to open up the major housing construction challenge in this province. A MIRT exploration is being started for the A27 Zeewolde-Eemnes. This restarts a first paused project. In addition, the government is committed to restarting the A6 Almere Oostvaarders-Lelystad project at an appropriate time. Both projects were previously paused due to a lack of money, labor and permit space in the field of nitrogen.
A MIRT exploration is also being started for the N33 North (Appingedam-Eemshaven). This examines possible solutions for widening the road and the bank connection, which will improve accessibility and road safety. A budget of €252.5 million is available for this. In addition, the government and the region want to restart the doubling of N33 Midden by making resources available for the N33 in ‘Nij Begun’.
Subsidies for multimodal transport and inland shipping
Agreements have been made to extend the Modal Shift Scheme and to make an additional 9 million available for this purpose. This scheme encourages entrepreneurs to shift freight transport from road to inland shipping and rail. In addition, wagon load transport on rail is supported with an investment of € 30 million at the Kijfhoek Distribution Center. €43 million has also been reserved to create additional truck parking spaces along our freight corridors and beyond.
Afsluitdijk: Existing drainage means not future-proof; cycling becomes possible again
Research by Rijkswaterstaat shows that renovating the existing drainage equipment at Den Oever and Kornwerderzand leads to major implementation risks and high costs. Renovation also appears not to be future-proof, due to climate change and sea level rise. Rijkswaterstaat continues to maintain the existing drainage equipment, while simultaneously looking at the necessary, future-proof follow-up.
After the ongoing work has been completed, there is good news for cyclists about the Afsluitdijk. The ministry has decided to realize temporary bicycle bridges at Den Oever and Kornwerderzand. It is expected that everyone will be able to cycle the entire 32 kilometers of the Afsluitdijk again in the course of 2027.
Improve Den Bosch station area
The ministry is allocating an additional €105.9 million to improving the station area in Den Bosch. This budget is intended, among other things, to increase capacity at the station, for a new bus station and the widening of platforms. Many new homes will be built in the area around the station until 2034.
Brainport Eindhoven
It has been agreed that the exploration of the northwest access point will be accelerated. The bus on the emergency lane on the A2 and A50 will also be implemented as a priority and will be completed in 2026. Project Eindhoven XL, to improve Eindhoven Central station, will be continued. For example, a new station building can be realized on the north side, with an internal transfer to the fully sunken bus station that is to be constructed.
Veluwelijn and Lelylijn
Almost €100 million will go to the Veluwe Line. By allowing trains to turn around at Harderwijk and additional level crossing measures, more trains can run between Amersfoort and Harderwijk. This will make the entire area better accessible for new housing construction.
Lelylijn envoy Klaas Knot will soon provide his advice on the options for financing this rail connection. It is expected that at least 14.5 billion euros will be needed for the construction.
Improved connection between Amsterdam and Haarlemmermeer
The government and the region will also work on securing financing for the public transport connection between Amsterdam and Haarlemmermeer (OVAH). A total of €4 to 7 billion is needed for this connection with an above-ground metro. From 2039, €200 million will be structurally reserved for OVAH. It is up to the next cabinet to make a follow-up decision for this project.
Old Line
Due to the construction of many new homes, the government and the region are investing more than €1.8 billion in tackling the Oude Lijn, the railway line between Leiden and Dordrecht. The planning study phase for improving the Leiden Centraal, The Hague Laan van NOI and Schiedam Centrum stations is starting. Plans are also ready for Dordrecht station. In addition, further work is being done on what is needed for a frequency increase to 8 sprinters per hour between The Hague and Dordrecht. At the end of 2026, the exploration into the construction of the new stations Dordrecht Leerpark, Rijswijk Buiten, Schiedam Kethel and Rotterdam Van Nelle, and the required track doubling between Delft and Schiedam, will be completed. This will require another approximately 2 billion euros, something that the next cabinet will have to decide on.
Resources for housing construction and mobility
Last November, the government announced that this was a total one-off €3.4 billion euros would be distributed to enable the construction of housing. The money goes to the construction of roads, cycle paths, tunnels and tram lines that make new residential areas accessible. Investments were also made in necessary area-specific measures for housing projects, such as soil remediation, water and soil measures or solutions for grid congestion. This makes the construction of 273,000 homes throughout the Netherlands possible through large and small projects, such as the Merwedelijn and Veluwewaalpad.