Auditors: €9.5bn needed to put roads and railways on war footing

The Netherlands needs to invest nearly €10 billion to make its road and rail infrastructure fit for war, auditors have warned in a critical report.

The Court of Audit said investment was needed to upgrade motorways and rail lines to ensure military vehicles and supplies can be transported across the country.

“Shortfalls in the maintenance budget mean that on an everyday basis, infrastructure is so outdated that it can no longer be used properly,” the auditors said.

“This leads to limitations on use, such as traffic travelling at lower speeds or with lighter loads, which military transport also has to contend with.”

The Netherlands’ key strategic position on the edge of the North Sea makes it a crucial link in the chain for military supplies to Nato partners. A broken bridge or subsidence on the railway line could have far-reaching consequences, the auditors warned.

Last year junior infrastructure minister Thierry Aartsen called for a review of the railway lines between the Netherlands and the Baltic states, after researchers warned that the network was prone to sabotage.

Railway sabotage

A month ago saboteurs brought the network to a standstill by fastening steel pipes and other objects to rail lines, in a co-ordinated campaign that was blamed on farmers angry with the government’s plans to tackle the nitrogen emissions crisis.

Altogether the audit office says the country needs to spend an extra €9.5bn, including €5 billion to meet Nato standards by widening military corridors, raising clearance heights and strengthening bridges.

They added that the list was incomplete because it does not include spending on waterways or how much was needed to maintain military corridors in their current state.

The figure is far greater than the €1.5bn the cabinet announced in its 2027 budget for repairs to roads and bridges over the next decade. All Nato countries agreed at last year’s summit in The Hague to raise defence spending to 5% of GDP, including 1.5% on critical infrastructure.