From 11 a.m. this morning until 6 p.m. tonight, the track for freight trains on the Betuwe route was not in use. Members of the action group Give Tegengas had chained themselves to the railway line between the port of Rotterdam and the German border.

The demonstrators were located near Elst, between Nijmegen and Arnhem. Eventually they were removed by the police.

Due to the blockade, no train traffic was possible on the track between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. After 2 p.m., freight trains could use the track next to the blocked tracks. Train traffic has fully resumed since 6 p.m. tonight, a ProRail spokesperson said.

Every year, approximately 20,000 freight trains travel on the Betuwe Route, which is more than 50 per day.

This month, Geef Tegengas already blocked the railway in the port of Rotterdam several times. Previous actions also attempted to damage the track and dug boulders under the track.

The action group states that the Netherlands is guilty of “pumping around fossil fuels, weapons and other junk that is ruining the world.”

According to Geef Tegengas, the port of Rotterdam and the Betuwe line play an important role in this. The group also demands that trade with Israel be stopped.

As soon as the activists chain themselves, they call ProRail’s emergency number. The rail manager stops train traffic if people are reported or seen at a track.

ProRail is concerned about safety: “The railway is really not a place for demonstrations. It is really unsafe.” The rail manager says that it is not the intention that freight trains carrying hazardous substances have to stop in places where they normally do not stop.

Previously, Mayor Schouten of Rotterdam banned the actions. She talks about the risk of collision, electrocution and standstill of freight trains carrying hazardous substances.

The trade association of companies in the Rotterdam ports, Deltalinqs, says it is “sick of the actions”. According to Deltalinqs, they cause 100,000 to 250,000 euros in damage per hour

In addition to rail carriers, the disruptions also affect the industry in the port terminals and the companies where the products go.

Until now, the actions lasted about two to three hours, but this time the activists managed to shut down train traffic for more than twice as long.