ProRail says it is up-to-date with maintenance

Monday 10 October 2011

State-controlled railway network operator ProRail said on Monday it is meeting agreements on spending on maintenance, reports news agency ANP.

The national audit office said last week that ProRail had not spent some €1.1bn since it was set up in 2005, 10% of its total budget over the period.

According to ProRail chairwoman Marion Gout-Van Sinderen, any money left over is because some large construction projects have been postponed because of protests in the area concerned.

'In any case, the money for these projects has nothing to do with maintenance,' she told a press conference. 'We have spent 98% of the maintenance budget.'

ProRail estimates it will spend nearly €1.4bn on construction in 2011. In the first six months it spent €620m, mainly on building stations, tunnels and viaducts.

Spending on maintenance in the period was € 270m.

This winter, the company, together with Dutch Rail (NS), is testing a new and expensive treatment in the battle with winter weather. The wheels of some trains will be treated with a layer of a Teflon-like coating to avoid slippage.

© DutchNews.nl

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