Investment of millions of euros in better accessibility at Utrecht Science Park
Image Municipality of Utrecht
By merging the existing Lunetten station with a new station on the Koningsweg, a second rail hub will be created in Utrecht. The intention is to relieve Utrecht Central Station and improve the accessibility of the Utrecht Science Park. This will especially happen if the new station becomes part of a quick public transport connection from Leidsche Rijn.
This week, the government, the province, the municipality of Utrecht and surrounding municipalities reached an agreement on investments totalling half a billion euros. Of this, 380 million euros has now been reserved. No funds are available at this time for extending the new Uithof line to Zeist or even Amersfoort, but according to the municipality that plan has not been discarded completely. There will be an investigation into this option.
According to councillor Lot van Hooijdonk, investments in the public transport network are extremely important. In a press statement she says: “It is very nice that we can now start developing a public transport network with multiple junctions. Utrecht will double between 2000 and 2040 in terms of inhabitants. A different scale regarding public transport applies to such a large city. The number of travellers at Utrecht Central Station is growing from 88 million a year now to 100 million in 2030. In addition, 77,000 people travel to and from Utrecht Science Park every day. Utrecht is getting bigger and bigger, we can no longer manage with only Utrecht Central Station as an important transfer point.”
Moreover, the Utrecht mobility plans are an important condition for the construction of new homes in the area between Utrecht Central Station and Nieuwegein. A lot will be built in the so-called Merwedekanaalzone especially. It concerns around 9000 homes in total.
The House of Representatives will discuss all projects and programmes to improve the infrastructure in the Netherlands. The official decision as to whether the Utrecht measures will indeed be implemented is expected this spring. The intention is that the construction will be completed in 2030.