International intercity trains must quickly return to The Hague. The municipality recently argued for this with a delegation of the European Commission. The group of European politicians visited the city with the 'Connecting Europe Express' at The Hague Hollands Spoor station as part of the European Year of the Train, EUYearofRail. This train criss-crossed 26 European countries in the past month, stopping in 100 cities. The European Year of the Train is an action to position train travel as sustainable, smart and safe.
The last direct intercity will run from The Hague to Brussels in mid-December. This makes The Hague one of the few cities in Europe of this size that no longer has a direct international train connection, while the city has an international position with all kinds of leading large companies and institutions such as Europol and the International Criminal Court.
Train contributes to climate goals
The train is indispensable to entice people locally, nationally and internationally to travel in a different way and to achieve climate goals. 'Up to about 500 kilometers the train is the most important means of transport as an alternative to the plane. The train is also the sustainable alternative for long-distance journeys by car. Good international rail connections are indispensable for this. International train connections are also a must for keeping The Hague liveable and for the economic development of the city, the Southern Randstad and the Netherlands,' says Alderman Robert van Asten of Mobility.
Promising international connections from The Hague
Together with NS, railway manager ProRail, the municipal partnership for the Rotterdam The Hague Metropolitan Area and the province of South Holland, the municipality wants to realize the following international connections:
- Towards Brussels, Paris and London: seamless transfer in Rotterdam to the existing high-speed network. In the long run, a direct fast intercity (IC) connection with Antwerp and Brussels.
- In Utrecht, a seamless transfer to the high-speed network for a fast connection to Düsseldorf, among others.
- A direct connection to Aachen via Eindhoven and Heerlen.
With a contribution from Europe, a lot of profit can be achieved quickly, simply and relatively cheaply. For example, the municipality proposes to double the section between Delft and Schiedam to 4 tracks and to construct a third rail curve from The Hague Central to Hollands Spoor. This could double the number of high-speed trains in Europe by 2030. The Hague is then directly connected to this network, according to the municipality The Hague.
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