Today at 11:37 • Updated today at 12:00
How do you move a national monument that is over 150 years old? It will happen soon in Vught, millimeter by millimeter. The station there must make way for a sunken track. Pro Rail will therefore move the building very carefully, millimeter by millimeter, until it is 13 meters away. Preparatory work will begin in May.
The railway in Vught is being seriously renovated. A deepened track will be built and five dangerous level crossings will disappear. This makes it safer and reduces noise pollution. This is necessary because more trains will run in the coming years, both regular and freight trains.
Since last October, travelers in Vught have been able to use a new temporary station that is connected to the railway due to the work. The monumental station will therefore be empty for a while and can be moved very carefully after the summer so that the sunken track can be constructed. All work must be completed by 2030.
Thanks to the relocation, the historic station, including its cellar, can be preserved. And that is something that councilor Mark du Maine is very happy with, because the building plays a major role in Brabant history. “During the Second World War, prisoners escaped from the occupying forces through the basement of the station building,” the councilor explains. “It is special that we can preserve the historic cellar in a place that is charged and meaningful for many people.”
“The station tells part of our story,” De Maine continues. “It is valuable that we can honor this kind of heritage, even if major infrastructural changes are needed.”
Alliance Vught Verdiept is a partnership between Van Hattum and Blankevoort, Boskalis Nederland and ProRail. This alliance makes it possible for the station building including the basement to be preserved. Travelers will not notice the work, because a temporary station was built in October that travelers use. The large-scale work around the railway in Vught must be completed by 2030.
The cellar and the building will be moved together thirteen meters and will therefore both be preserved. A strong concrete floor is poured in the basement, which can support the building as a ‘tray’. A new foundation will be built at the new location of the station building. The building is then rolled millimeter by millimeter to its new location using a transport bench.
Preparatory work for the shift will start in May 2026. The station is scheduled to be moved after the summer. That takes one day.
