NL and Germany sign deal on faster, more frequent trains

The Netherlands and Germany have agreed to increase the number of trains running between them and cut travel times, with a focus on shortening the route to Berlin.

Annet Bertram, junior minister for public transport and rail, signed a joint declaration with German transport minister Steffen Bilger in Berlin on Tuesday. The agreement covers cross-border passenger and freight traffic, including military transport.

Bertram, of the centrist Christian Democrat CDA, told broadcaster NOS that she had wanted to travel to Berlin by train, but that current diversions made it impossible. “That is exactly why it is important that we discuss these issues in Berlin now,” she said.

The two countries will improve the main border routes and give new rail operators more access to the network.

The journey from Amsterdam to Berlin, 660km, takes almost seven hours, compared with three and a half hours for the 500km trip to Paris, according to NOS.

National rail operator NS and Deutsche Bahn run just four direct trains to Berlin, and all of them will be cancelled for three months next spring because of engineering work.

“Interest is not the problem, speed is,” Bertram said. She told NOS she would like to see “several options an hour” to Berlin or Frankfurt within 10 to 15 years.