The provinces of Groningen and Friesland will also lobby the European Union to get money for the construction of the Lely Line. The deputies Fleur Gräper and Avine Fokkens are visiting Amsterdam as part of the European Rail Year.
There is in fact a special train ‘Connecting Europe Express’ of the European Commission through Europe. The deputies meet members of the European Commission and officials from Brussels and want to use this meeting to draw attention to the Lelylijn and the Wunderline.
‘We are going to try to get the connection between Amsterdam and Groningen on the main European network,’ says deputy Fleur Gräper. ‘We hope to continue to develop in innovative solutions in the rail sector.’
Attention to Amsterdam-Bremen connection
Both provinces are convinced that the Lelylijn and the Wunderline, once linked, have a reinforcing effect on the network of the Netherlands and Europe. The train connections provide a direct connection between Amsterdam and Bremen. “We hope to bring that to the attention together.”
Sequel to Delta Plan for the North
The meeting with members of the European Commission is part of the lobby that has already started and has started so far with the presentation of the cold stones for the Delta Plan for the North.
‘It is a step in the lobby that we will be conducting together for some time to come. We have previously presented the building blocks for the Delta Plan in The Hague. Now the story is getting a European dimension and we are also going to present the plans to Brussels.’
German election results offer opportunities
Gräper is also eyeing the election results in Germany, where the CDU review and the SPD are now the largest party. There is a chance that there will be a coalition with SPD and Die Grünen, possibly complemented by the FPD. The first two parties are in favor of more rail connections.
‘That was not an unpleasant waking up’, smiles Gräper, who sees opportunities for the Wunderline in the German Bundestag in Berlin. ‘We work very well everywhere with Landreis Niedersachsen when it comes to this connection. We are curious which coalition it will be and what this will mean for the Wunderline.’