THE Dutch province of Limburg and the municipality of Maastricht have started legal action over the cancellation of a cross-border light rail project.
The Belgian regional government of Flanders and the Flemish public transport operator De Lijn unilaterally chose to abort construction of a new 35km regional light rail line between Hasselt in Belgium and Maastricht in the Netherlands in 2022.
They are now being sued by their Dutch partners, who claim the decision to cancel the project did not take into account the effects on the Dutch side nor provide compensation for costs incurred by the Dutch parties.
The total spent on the project is estimated at around €20m and Limburg province is now suing for a proportion of this amount.
The light rail project was part of the Flemish Spartacus public transport plan. Most of the proposed line would use the alignment of the disused cross-border main line between Bilzen and Maastricht, the former Belgian National Railways (SNCB) Line 20.
The stumbling block was in Maastricht, where significant investment would have been required to cross the River Maas, close to Maastricht railway station.
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