20 years delay: The construction of the Betuwe route and Hollandstrecke

Abstract

The Betuweroute is a controversial rail line in the Netherlands, designed to transfer freight from the port of Rotterdam to Germany. The German continuation of the Betuweroute however, the Hollandstrecke, is expected to be finished in 2026 at the earliest. This thesis aims to explain the difference in completion date by using the concepts ‘planning culture’ and ‘spatial imaginaries’. For this thesis experts were interviewed. From the interviews, the following can be concluded: The planning culture of both projects differed and this has influenced the process and completion date of both projects. For the Betuweroute, the planning culture was very much aimed at a fast decision-making process, with an effective lobby for the project in the right places. Although the process for the Hollandstrecke took longer, it also encountered less resistance. The Hollandstrecke only recently got prioritized, compared to a high prioritization in the Netherlands. The use of spatial imaginaries for both projects was limited, but the imaginary used, turned out to be a result of the planning culture as well. Despite multiple efforts to coordinate both projects on a higher (European) level, the differences in planning culture prevented both projects to be dealt with as one single cross-border project