Cabinet diverts €270m from metro tracks to roads and bridges
The money was meant for new tracks and facilities for the metro and RandstadRail between The Hague, Rotterdam and Zoetermeer, and will now go to repairing roads, bridges and water works.
The cabinet is freezing the €270m the national government had reserved for expanding the metro network and RandstadRail. The money for new tracks and facilities will be used elsewhere.
The money was meant for new tracks and other facilities needed to store, maintain and run extra metros. From 2030 the metro between The Hague and Rotterdam and RandstadRail between Zoetermeer and The Hague are supposed to run every five minutes.
Minister Vincent Karremans said on Friday that tough choices must be made at the expense of large projects. “Our infrastructure is outdated, and we notice that more and more,” he said, pointing to defects at the Merwedebrug and the Suurhoffbrug. “That is why we are putting the money to work where it is needed most: in the maintenance and renewal of our roads, bridges and water works.”
In July 2025 the regional body approved the tender for 38 new metros for the Rotterdam transport firm RET, an investment of €578m. More than €60m was set aside for changes to infrastructure.
Part of that money is already spent. A workshop for building the metros has been booked through a tender, and a firm has been found to adapt the track at the workshop and secure it. The metros themselves have not been ordered; that is due in early 2027, based on tenders now under way.
Igor Bal of the Metropoolregio Rotterdam - Den Haag wrote to the 21 municipalities involved.
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RandstadRail
RandstadRail is a light rail network of tram and metro-style lines that links The Hague and Rotterdam, with trains running through both cities. It connects the public transport systems of the two cities, carrying passengers between them and within each city.
MRDH (Metropoolregio Rotterdam Den Haag)
The Metropoolregio Rotterdam Den Haag is a partnership of local governments in the Rotterdam and The Hague region that coordinates shared regional matters. Its transport role includes acting as the regional authority that decides on tendering bus, tram and metro services in the area.
RET (Rotterdamse Elektrische Tram)
RET is the public transport company of Rotterdam, operating the city's metro, tram and bus services. It also runs the Rotterdam section of the RandstadRail network.