Rotterdam-Германия арасындағы темір жол желісі

Dutch railway line

The Betuweroute is a double track freight railway between Rotterdam and Germany. Betuweroute is the official name, after the Betuwe area through which the route passes. The line is popularly called Betuwelijn, after an older local rail line in the same region. The line extends into Germany as the Oberhausen–Arnhem railway, and it is part of Project No. (Number) 5 of the Trans European Transport Network (TEN T).

In 1985 the Van Bonde Commission began to investigate the future of west–east transport. The main advocate of the proposed line was the then minister Neelie Kroes, later Commissioner in the European Union until 2014. In 1992 the German and Dutch governments signed the Treaty of Warnemünde, which addressed enhancing rail traffic and focused on the tracks from Amsterdam and Rotterdam to Duisburg. The original plan was for three branch rail lines towards Germany. The northern branch via Oldenzaal was abandoned in 1999 and the southern branch via Venlo was abandoned in 2004. Also in 2004, the courts forbade the construction of a large logistics centre near Valburg. In 1988 the Dutch state owned passenger railway company NS began work on the line. Delayed by two years, the railway was finished mid 2007. The final cost was 4.7 billion euros, more than twice the original budget of 2.3 billion euros, and more than quadruple the initial estimate from 1990 of 1.1 billion euros. The large and rising costs, and criticism about government funding, promoted the government to seek private financing for the line, without success. On 16 June 2007, Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands presided over the opening ceremony for the line that connects Rotterdam to the German border. Despite the TEN T and bilateral agreements, Germany did not expect to complete reconstruction of their lines that connect with Betuweroute before 2015.

The route is electrified at 25 kV AC and signaled using the ERTMS2 standard and AF Track Circuits. Electrification meets new European standards, but Dutch locomotives could not use the line's power because they run on a different voltage. The German extension of the route does not comply with the new ERTMS2 standards, and also uses another voltage, thus limiting usability of the track. Custom made locomotives were needed. The first new spec locomotive was delivered to Railion in December 2007. Tunnels, viaducts and other parts of the railway are engineered to be 4.0 m wide and 6.15 m high in order to allow double stacked container trains under overhead wires, although no such trains will be in use on this route for years to come. The overhead wires were installed at standard height, to accommodate locomotives with standard pantographs. This and viaducts on the connecting lines prevent use of double stacked containers. In the future, the overhead electrification wires could be raised to allow for double stacking without much effort or cost. For the section from Rotterdam to the large Kijfhoek classification yard, existing track was reconstructed. New construction occurred from Kijfhoek to Zevenaar near the German border, which is most of the remaining three quarters of the line. The total length of noise insulation panels on both sides of the track is , the same as the route length. Roll bars along the track keep derailed cars from toppling. 5 tunnels and several roofed sections add up to a length of There are 190 passages to allow wildlife to cross. There are no level crossings, but instead 130 bridges and viaducts. Once the German line signaling and other infrastructure are updated, the Betuweroute's capacity will be 10 trains per hour in each direction.

When the line opened, project managers hoped within five years to reach a daily average of 150 freight trains. In the first six months of operation, the unfinished German connection and problems with safety equipment caused traffic to be light. Usage increased steeply over the years 2008–2011. By mid 2011, 78% of all freight trains between Rotterdam and the German border took the Betuweroute. The other freight trains travelled via either Venlo or the border at Bad Bentheim, or used the conventional railway through Arnhem to Emmerich am Rhein Beginning in 2009, the heaviest trains in Germany and the Netherlands, 6,000 tonne trains, transported iron ore between the port of Rotterdam and Dillingen in Germany using the Betuweroute. As of 2019, the Betuweroute carried 4.2 billion ton kilometers of cargo and 2.3 million train kilometers. Unlike other Dutch rail network tariffs, the tariff charged to train operators to use the Betuwe rail line is not calculated by train weight but by the distance the train travels. Between 2008 and 2011 the tariff has increased progressively from €1.41 per train kilometer to €2.33 per train kilometer.