The building of tram 19 between Delft station and TU Delft is again delayed. The latest estimate shows that the tram will only start plying the route in the summer of 2026, once again a year later than was planned. The costs for the project will also increase by EUR 24 million. What is the problem?
(Photo: Sam Rentmeester)
The latest delay is down to a combination of technical modifications, maintenance work and a long testing time, the planning (in Dutch) published on 14 October shows. The total costs for laying the two kilometre long tram tracks have risen from the original EUR 54 million to EUR 90 million.
The Metropolitan Region Rotterdam The Hague (MRDH), that commissioned the tram, explains that the cost increase was caused by the need to use fibre reinforced concrete and the special requirements for rail insulation. These materials are needed to reduce the vibrations and electromagnetic radiation from the trams so that research facilities in the adjacent area on campus are not affected.
The fibre reinforced concrete and the insulation need a labour intensive building method that had not previously been anticipated by the MRDH. Further, the MRDH has now included the maintenance costs of the existing section of the tram track between Delft station and the Jaffalaan in the new project budget.
Inflation
The indexed labour and raw material costs also need to be added. The original cost agreements with suppliers, contractors and advisors have been adjusted to current market values.
The extended project period also involves extra costs as the project team and the construction site need to be kept longer. Traffic managers on campus to ensure the safety of students and staff will also be deployed for a longer period, pushing the costs up even more.
Even after the work will hopefully be completed next year, the tram will not be operational for another year as the system needs to be tested. During that period, the tram drivers will be trained to drive on this new route. From the summer of 2025 onward, a testing company will have trams run without passengers to check if this can be done safely and whether all the necessary safety systems work. The planned schedule also needs to be tested. The special system that is needed to protect TU Delft’s research facilities from the trams’ magnetic radiation come on top of the extra pilots and tests.
The management of the MRDH still has to take an official decision about the new financial setback of EUR 24 million. This will be done on 25 October.
Overigens moet het bestuur van MRDH nog een officieel besluit nemen over de nieuwe financiële tegenvaller van 24 miljoen. Dat zal op 25 oktober gebeuren.
- In June, the investigative journalist Bas Vermond and Delta published a detailed reconstruction about why tram 19 has been on the waiting list for 20 years. You can read it here.
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