Cabinet letter of 16 October 2026; the House debates it after the autumn recess
The €18bn infrastructure plan: what goes ahead, what is paused
The cabinet will spend about €18 billion to 2041 on repairing what the country already has: bridges, roads, rail and locks built in the 1950s to 1970s. The money comes from new projects: only 14 of the 45 planned roads and rail lines keep their budget.
Sources
Annex: ranking of MIRT projects on the Mobility Fund (2026D51854)
Annex: map of the 175 renewal projects (2026D51853)
Rijksoverheid, news release of 16 October 2026
Last updated 17 October 2026. The budgets are settled in the spring memorandum (Voorjaarsnota) of 2027 after talks with the regions; we update this page when the figures change.
€18bn
for repairs, not new building: ageing bridges, roads, rail and locks are fixed first, to 2041
175
bridges, tunnels, locks and pumping stations to be renewed or patched up: years of roadworks and closures ahead
14 of 45
planned new roads and rail lines keep their money; 13 are paused by this decision, 17 were already on hold, one has no national money
€3,866m
taken from paused plans, from the Utrecht ring road to the Kornwerderzand lock and the Rotterdam metro
Where the money goes
Of the €18bn for repairing Dutch infrastructure, more than a third goes to roads and waterways
€ million to 2041, cabinet infrastructure plan of 16 October 2026
Who gains, who loses
Ring Utrecht loses the most, the Brainport Eindhoven package gains the most
Change in budget with the prioritisation, € million; projects of €80 million and more
Smaller cuts: the A28 Amersfoort–Hoogeveen package (€35m), the upper IJssel waterway (€35m), IJssel berths (€34m), the N35 Nijverdal–Wierden (€22m), the Nieuwer ter Aa ferry bridge (€22m), a regional rail quick scan in the east (€19m) and berths between Amsterdam and Lemmer (€7m).
What it means for you
- Trains
- Amsterdam Zuid gets its third platform (€639m) and the Amsterdam–Haarlemmermeer link stays funded (€1,282m). The Nedersaksenlijn between Enschede and Groningen keeps €2,039m. The RandstadRail and Rotterdam metro capacity plan loses its €270m national share; the ten HSL viaducts between the Groene Hart tunnel and Hoofddorp are repaired so trains can run at 300 km/h again.
- Roads
- The A27 Houten–Hooipolder gets €1,000m more as a legal obligation, and the A20 at Gouda is widened. Widening the A27 Zeewolde–Eemnes, the A28 package and the N33 to Eemshaven are paused; the Ring Utrecht budget of €999m goes to zero after the court annulled the route decision. Fourteen road projects paused earlier for nitrogen stay paused, Hoevelaken junction among them.
- Water and ferries
- The IJmuiden pumping station is replaced (€2,300m). The Kornwerderzand lock is not widened, although its bridges are renewed; the €251m reserve for a faster Ameland crossing is withdrawn. Reserves for water quality and drought are cut: €567m for the large waters programme (PAGW), €172m for tidal Grevelingen and a €284m fresh-water reserve, while the fresh-water programme itself keeps €284m.
- Housing
- €355m goes to roads and transport for four new housing areas: Alkmaar, Apeldoorn, Helmond and Hengelo/Enschede. Existing housing-access agreements stay in place.
- What happens next
- The House of Representatives debates the letter after the autumn recess; the regions respond in the MIRT consultations; the money is booked in the 2027 spring memorandum. Paused projects stay on the ranked list and can restart when money and nitrogen room allow. The plan also counts on about €2.4 billion of savings from simpler rules and more standard designs, an ambition the cabinet wants to confirm in the spring.
Key terms explained
- MIRT
- The national programme of infrastructure projects (Meerjarenprogramma Infrastructuur, Ruimte en Transport). A project moves from study (verkenning) to plan (planuitwerking) to construction (realisatie).
- Mobiliteitsfonds and Deltafonds
- The two national funds: one for roads, rail and waterways, one for flood protection and fresh water. Together they pay for building and maintaining the national networks.
- Basiskwaliteit
- The basic quality level: the networks kept safe and available, without extra ambitions. The cabinet now funds it for eight years first, before new construction.
- Zaaglijn
- The cut-off line in the ranking: projects above it keep their budget, projects below it are paused. It sits after rank 16 in this letter.
- Paused for nitrogen
- Road projects stopped since 2023 because nitrogen (stikstof) rules leave no room to build. They keep their place in the ranking but cannot start.
- Overbruggingsmaatregelen
- Bridging measures: repairs that keep a bridge, lock or tunnel safely in use until it is renewed, such as weight limits or reinforcement.
- ERTMS
- The European train control system that replaces the Dutch ATB signalling; the rollout is funded with €1,879m.
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