THE outgoing Dutch minister of infrastructure and environment, Mrs Melanie Schulz van Haegen-Maas Geesteranus, has told the Dutch Parliament that ERTMS will be rolled out over the country's entire national railway network.

PLANS for the construction of a new railway between Heerenveen and Groningen in the north of the Netherlands have been abandoned after mounting costs prompted the provinces of Friesland and Groningen to reject the project. Originally budgeted at around Euros 600m, costs have risen to around Euros 700m, while the initial calculations also failed to budget for maintenance and infrastructure management at Euro 6m per year.

THE first of 24 diesel-electric articulated dmus has been rolled out by Stadler Rail for operation by Arriva on its Rivierenland Achterhoek passenger rail concession in

DUTCH regional bus and train operator Syntus is reportedly in financial difficulty and could run out of funds by next month unless its two shareholders, Netherlands Railways (NS) and Keolis, step in.

Syntus is currently losing around Euros 5m per year, and critics have suggested the company bid too low for some of the contracts it operates, particularly bus services in the Veluwe area.

In February shareholders asked CEO Mr Frank de Leeuw to stand down and Mr Cees Anker, formerly of First Group, was appointed as his successor, albeit on an interim basis. However, Anker has initiated a recovery plan for the company.

In 2010, Syntus lost the concession for the Arnhem – Winterswijk, Zutphen – Winterswijk, and Arnhem – Tiel regional lines in eastern Gelderland province to Arriva following a Europe-wide tender. The contract runs for 10 years from December 9, with an option for a five-year extension.

Syntus was one of the first companies to tender for regional train services in the Netherlands when the market was liberalised in the 1990s. The name Syntus is a contraction of "Synergie tussen trein en bus" (synergy between train and bus).

DUTCH infrastructure manager Prorail is to upgrade the non-electrified line between Groningen and Leeuwarden in an effort to meet demand for a second hourly fast service between the two towns.