The steel Rhine

The the Rhine of steel ( IJzeren Rijn in Dutch, Eiserner Rhein in German) is a line of Railroad dedicated to goods transport connecting the port of Antwerp (Belgium) to Mönchengladbach (Germany) via Neerpelt in Belgium and crossing the territory Dutch by Weert and Roermond.

Its reactivation aims at creating a powerful railway route, parallel with that of the Ligne of Betuwe which must connect directly the port of Rotterdam, competitor of Antwerp, in the Ruhr.

History

The Treated of London of 1839 between the Netherlands and Belgium ratified the independence of the latter. He recognized in Belgium the right to establish a terrestrial connection (Route or channel) between Sittard and the Prussian border while crossing the Dutch territory, the financing having to be assured by funds belges.
This right was later on confirmed by the Traité of the steel Rhine of 1873. In the beginning, the Belgians projected to dig a channel, but finally they chose a railway line.

The construction of the steel Rhine began in 1868 and the first trains circulated in 1879. The traffic was intense at the beginning, then it declined gradually. Currently the line is used more only partially, by some goods trains between Antwerp and the factory of zinc of Budel like between Budel and Weert. The section Weert- Roermond, which belongs to the network Intercity Dutch, is traversed daily by many passenger trains. Between Roermond and the German border, the line is closed with any traffic since 1991.

Reopening

In 2004, Belgium required the reopening of the steel Rhine to face the growth of the goods traffic between the wearing of Antwerp and the area of the the Ruhr in Germany. This request naturally fits in the European policy of modal Transfert which aims at limiting the growth of the goods traffic per road and to transfer a significant share from it towards the railway and the waterway.

Currently the goods traffic bound for Germany passes by the route of Montzen, more in the south. This route is insufficient so much for lack of capacity, because of the important movement of travellers which borrows it, that by his profile marked by strong slopes which pose problem for the circulation of the heavy trains.

The Belgian request is based on the treaty of 1839, and the treaty of the steel Rhine of 1873. The opponents with the project propose the fact that the line will cross the natural reserve of De Meinweg, and the ecologists fear the destruction of the habitat of several threatened species.
On the legal level, they call upon the fact that the treaty of 1873 granted to Belgium a 99 years concession, which expired thus fine 1972, and the fact that the Belgian State sold with the government of the Netherlands the section of line which crosses this country.

After the failure of a round of negotiations, the two governments were intended to seize the international Court of justice and to rely on its decision. In its decision of the May 24th 2005, the Court recognized at the same time the rights of the Belgians in the framework of the treaty of 1839 and the interests of the Netherlanders relative to natural reserve. Pursuant to the treaty of 1839, confirmed by the Court, the Belgians have the right to use and modernize the steel Rhine. However, Belgium must finance the modernization of the line, while the Netherlands must support of them the loads of repairs and maintenance. The two countries will have to share the cost of construction of a tunnel under natural reserve.

See too

Line of Betuwe

It is not the international Court of justice but the permanent Court of arbitration which was seized by the disagreement and delivered its sentence on May 24th, 2005.

External bond

Project IJzeren Rijn (in Dutch)

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