Missing regional transborder rail connection Nijmegen Kleve European

Missing regional transborder rail – connection Nijmegen - Kleve European Parliament, 25. January 2012, Dr. Artur Leenders, Deputy mayor of the city of Kleve

Only 26 km are missing

History § 1865: Opening of the Railway Kleve – Nijmegen § 1879 Railway Connection Amsterdam – Nijmegen – Köln (Bridge across the Waal) § 1988 Amsterdam – Köln is closed § 1991 Last train Kleve - Nijmegen

Reasons to close the connection § Cross border fee: 10 guldens extra fee on every ticket § Low frequency: only 5 trains / day § Didn`t stop at Groesbeek and Heijendaal (University and Radbout – Hospital) § DB refused to automize the track (5 crossing keepers)

1991 – 2012 The border is gone! § Traffic has increased in both countries § Economy and trade have become international § Kleve belongs to the region Arnhem – Nijmegen and not to the Ruhrgebiet § People of both countries live, work and study in the neighbourcountry

Passenger expectations § § Enschede – Gronau: 1200 p. / day Venlo – M`gladbach: 1600 p. /day Heerlen – Aachen: 800 p. /day Nijmegen – Kleve: 2000 p. /day (Herman Katteler, IST Radbout Universiteit Nijmegen, 2005)

Costs Röhr – AGV – Inquiry (1998) Nijmegen – Border: 17. 1 Mill. Euro Border – Kleve: 14, 2 Mill. Euro Total costs: 31, 1 Mill. Euro CVAV – Rapport 26 (2005) Nijmegen – Border: 16, 8 Mill. Euro Border – Kleve : 14, 4 Mill. Euro Total costs: 31, 2 Mill. Euro

Problems in Kleve

We took away one bridge

And we don´t want it back

Why does Kleve want the connection? § 30% of the clients in the shops in Kleve are dutch § 30% of the money on the banks in Kleve is dutch money § All the inscriptions on the shops in Kleve are bi – lingual § And:

We have a university

We checked it 2007

The result of Rot 8 considering the railway connection The economic benefit of the railway connection Nijmegen – Kleve for the Euregio is very much higher than the costs

The opinion in Kleve is:

Whether we get a train

Or a tram

We would welcome both, but: § To realize the connection, we need money from the Euregio, from the german government, from Düsseldorf and from the European Parliament in Brussels § Will we get it only for a train or will we get it also for a tram?