FROM December trains operating on the cross-border link between Zevenaar, the Netherlands, and the German border, will only be able to use ETCS Level 2 signalling with signals along the line and the Dutch ATB-EG automatic train protection system set to be removed.

GERMAN federal transport minister Dr Peter Ramsauer, the first minister of the German state of North Rhine Westphalia Mrs. Hannelore Kraft, and German Rail (DB) CEO Dr Rüdiger Grube signed a €1.5bn agreement in Bonn on July 24 to fund a major upgrade of the 73km line between the Dutch border at Emmerich and Oberhausen.

TRAFFIC on the Betuweroute, the dedicated freight line from Rotterdam to the German border near Emmerich, increased by 30% in 2011 to 23,000 trains.