Lobby Lelylijn continues in Brussels with Swiss research
The provinces of Groningen, Friesland and Drenthe are now also trying to gain a foothold in the European Union for marketing the Lelylijn. Lobbyists are also trying to draw attention to the advantages of the Lely line on a European scale in Brussels with a study by Prognos AG.
The research of the German research bureau Prognostiek mainly focuses on the chances of developing in the existing rail connections. Northern Netherlands hopes for a contribution from Europe for the rail network.
‘Scandinavia benefits from Lelylijn’
It investigates the economic opportunities that aiming at a train connection between Amsterdam – Groningen – Bremen and Hamburg entails. With a direct train connection, the Northern Netherlands will have more access to the sales markets in Norway and Sweden, economic regions that are now ‘very important’ for the Dutch import and export market.
A fast train connection from Amsterdam via the Northern Netherlands to Hamburg also contributes to upgrading the economy in the Northern Netherlands and the German Weser-Ems region, the region around Bremen with some 2.4 million inhabitants.
Will Lelylijn be added to the European rail network?
In order to have a chance of receiving subsidies from Brussels for the construction of fast rail connections, it is important that the fast train is added to the trans-European transport network (TEN-T). The existing railway line between Amsterdam, Zwolle and Groningen is on that list on the regional network, but not yet between the most prominent rail connections.
‘But does it have a better chance of financing from Brussels’, says lobbyist Dirk Frouws of the Northern Netherlands Partnership. “The Lely Line and the Lower Saxony Line are not yet on that network.”
The Lely line is not expected to be added to the TEN-T network for the time being, because the line does not yet exist in the future and the European Commission wants the core network ready by 2030. ‘We have had a conversation with the European Commission and indicated that we want to get the Lelylijn on that network in due course,’ continues Frouws. “They are open to it, but have said the initiative has to come from the root.”
New Lobby Vehicle Hi
The research is therefore a new lobby vehicle for the region. The deputies Fleur Gräper (Groningen) and Avine Fokkens (Friesland) briefly visited Amsterdam where a train with members of the European Commission arrived as part of the European Year of Rail. They also want to surprise the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management that the minister is proposing to Europe to add the Lely line to the TEN-T network. If they succeed, the Lelylijn will have a better chance of European financing.
Two-track lobby
The provinces of Groningen, Friesland and Drenthe, together with the municipalities of Groningen, Leeuwarden, Assen and Emmen, have commissioned the Swiss-German research agency Prognos AG to investigate the opportunities of the Lely Line in a European context.
With the research in hand, the lobbyists of the Northern Netherlands Alliance are trying to get European politicians, administrators and policymakers interested in the Lely Line in Brussels and hope that the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management will expect Europe to add the Lely Line to the TEN-T. -network. For example, financing of the Lelylijn is being worked on via two tracks.