The cabinet is calling a halt to further research on plans to build a railway link between Lelystad and Groningen, much to the disappointment of the three northern provinces.

Groningen, Friesland and Drenthe have been calling for a direct route north for some 60 years. “We are disappointed and surprised,” Groningen king’s commissioner René Paas told RTV Noord.

The king’s commissions were told of the government’s decision on Wednesday, Paas said. “The cabinet does not want to take a decision at the present time,” he said. “It needs time. But we did not get a proper answer to our questions about what happens now.”

The project, and an additional railway route east, are now on hold, he told the broadcaster.

Plans to develop the track were included in party manifestos, the coalition agreement and were mentioned in the king’s speech opening the current parliamentary year. However, the ministers responsible for its development have now pulled the plug.

The infrastructure ministry said in September that the Lelylijn route would cost almost €14 billion but only €3 billion has so far been allocated to the project. A further railway, linking Groningen to Enschede on the German border, would cost €1.7 billion.