The Betuweroute rail project, which will connect the German Ruhr region with the port of Rotterdam, has entered the implementation phase. In December 2000, bidders were invited to tender for the creation of super-infrastructure in the Netherlands – laying the foundation, tracks, and creating electric traction and signaling technology.
Only for freight trains.
Duisburg is the end point of the 160-kilometer Betuweroute section, which starts at the port of Rotterdam. It is not only the first double-track railway line constructed exclusively for the transport of goods, but also the largest infrastructure project in the country – its cost is estimated at nearly 9 billion guilders, approximately 4.5 billion euros. The main contractor for the project will be NS Railinfrabeheer, a division of Dutch Railways. It is estimated that by 2010, nearly 43 million tons of goods will be transported along this route. As spokesperson Han Kok says, this is 75% of the freight traffic forecast for the Netherlands in 2010.