The government has put a stop to the construction of pipelines for hazardous substances that was going to run from the Rotterdam port area to the German border. As a result, many wagons with hazardous substances continue to run through the centre of Eindhoven.
The Delta Rhine Corridor (DRC) project was supposed to have pipelines running through the province to allow hazardous substances to be transported more safely. There would be pipelines for CO2, hydrogen and ammonia and one pipeline for various hazardous substances. That should have solved the issue of the large number of toxic trains that run through the Eindhoven city centre.
However, the cabinet has chosen to only construct a CO2 and a hydrogen pipeline. The intention to construct power cables between the west of the country and Limburg is also being scrapped. The project is too complicated to implement now, causing delays.
Historic opportunity
The province of Noord-Brabant reacts with disappointment to the news from The Hague. It is feared that a ‘historic’ opportunity is being missed to solve multiple problems at the same time, i.e., making the industry more sustainable, improving safety around the railway and accelerating housing construction.
“For the crucial electricity cables that were supposed to be in the corridor, new routes now have to be found,” the province announced. “For hydrogen and CO2, the ground may have to be opened twice. A new route for the electricity cables will also cause even more inconvenience across the province.”
Complicated
“This decision by the government may be good news for the areas at both ends of the DRC, but not for the much larger area in between,” the province said.
According to provincial executive Marijn van Gruijthuijsen, The Hague is making it ‘unnecessarily complicated’ to tackle major social challenges in North Brabant.
Ignored
“Together with the other southern provinces, we have invested a lot of time and energy in this project over the past three years and have contributed constructively,” says Van Gruijthuisen. “We have even started investigating which hazardous substances can be transported together through an additional pipeline. It is disappointing that the government is largely ignoring this effort,” says the deputy.
Source: Studio040
Translated by Yawar Abbas
