Maasvlakte 2: New Track, Tight Planning (The Netherlands)

January 2, 2012

Outside work on the railway started in December 2011.

The trains should be running on the new railway of Maasvlakte 2 by the end of October 2012, when BAVO Spoor will deliver 12.3 km of double track behind the dunes of Maasvlakte 2.

The large terminals on Maasvlakte 2 will soon be the start and end point of container trains that connect the port to economic centres across Europe.

The 160-km Betuwe route can accommodate 280 freight trains to the German border every day, ready for transport deeper into Europe.

Currently around nine percent of all freight leaves the port by rail, and this is intended to reach 20 percent in the future.

DRIFTING SAND

The railway is being built on the outline of the new land. Sand is an excellent base for building on, although it is inconvenient that it blows into the rails and the points.

PUMA and the Port Authority are using grass and a layer of clay in a concerted effort to keep the sand in its place. The rail project has very tight planning.

The weather is the only risk. If the cold makes working conditions impossible, processes come to a standstill. But the planning takes that into account too.

[mappress]

Dredging Today Staff, January 2, 2012; Image: Maasvlakte2