The money that is available for the construction of the Lely line may not be spent on the Lower Saxony line. This is stated in a motion that today received support from a large majority of the House of Representatives.
The two railway lines should improve the connection with and in the Northern Netherlands. More than 3 billion euros has been reserved for the Lely Line (Groningen-Lelystad). But that still leaves a deficit of around 10 billion euros. The Lower Saxony line (Groningen-Twente) is about 1.7 billion euros short. The Lower Saxony Line can therefore be helped to get started with part of the 3 billion euros that has already been set aside for the Lely Line, but the House of Representatives wants to rule out that possibility.
State Secretary Chris Jansen (Public Transport) wanted to discuss the possibility of transferring money from one railway line to another tomorrow with representatives of the northern provinces. He therefore urged the House to vote against the motion. “If this option is blocked, it will make the solution a lot more complicated.”
Some Drenthe administrators also wanted money for the construction of the Lely line to be used for the Lower Saxony line. In a letter they wrote that using the fund for the Lely line could be a solution to get both projects running smoothly. From Drenthe, councilors Jeroen Huizing and Jeroen Hartsuiker signed the letter on behalf of Coevorden and Borger-Odoorn respectively.
“The Veendam-Stadskanaal section needs the starting decision for the Lower Saxony line to be made now. There are all kinds of other projects depending on this decision,” says Huizing. “The studies have shown that it is an important flywheel for broad prosperity for this also vulnerable region.”
“Both lines are important for accessibility and broad prosperity in the North and East of the Netherlands,” says Arjen Maathuis, alderman of Almelo and future mayor of Meppel. “You can now take a practical first step in this regard by using funds reserved for the Lely Line for the Lower Saxony Line.”
A majority of the factions in the House of Representatives do not agree with this, fearing that the Lely Line will be further removed from view. “We are not going to cannibalize one line compared to the other,” responds MP Eline Vedder (CDA) from Ruinerwold.