The Netherlands’ road and rail infrastructure does not meet NATO’s infrastructure requirements in many locations. Vertical clearance, load-bearing capacity and width, for example, pose problems for large military transports in many places. Although military transports almost always succeed in getting from A to B, they could have major consequences for everyday traffic in a wartime scenario if nothing changes.
That is what the Netherlands Court of Audit writes in its report Focus on Military Mobility,
published today. Investments of approximately €9.5 billion are needed to ensure that roads and railways fully meet military requirements, including €5 billion specifically to meet those requirements. The exact costs remain uncertain.
Military mobility requires substantial funding, but many costs remain unknown
This figure shows an estimate of the costs, in billions of euros, required to ensure that the Netherlands’ infrastructure meets military requirements.
Roads
Railways Waterways Maintenance of military corridors
Onbekend
Onbekend
Onbekend
Renewal of military corridors
1,2 miljard
Onbekend
Onbekend
Capacity expansion of military corridors 2,9 miljard
0,4 miljard
Onbekend
Additional costs to meet military requirements 3 miljard
2 miljard
Onbekend
Special corridors through the Netherlands
Geopolitical tensions in Europe have increased, and the Netherlands occupies a strategic position on the North Sea. It is therefore an important starting point for the transport of NATO equipment across Europe. One of the Netherlands’ tasks within NATO is therefore to facilitate the movements of its allies, as well as those of its own equipment and troops. In 2023, the EU established which corridors and routes throughout the EU must be available for the movement of military equipment. These are special routes for military movements, with as little risk of delay as possible.
Not always a problem
It is important to note that not all deviations from the technical requirements actually cause problems for military transport. In fact, military transports currently almost always manage to get from A to B. This is because only a very small proportion of military transports involve vehicles for which these deviations present a genuine obstacle. For example, if an overbridge is lower than required, this only becomes a problem if one of the vehicles in the convoy is too tall to pass underneath it. Moreover, in some cases, the convoy can take an alternative route, for example via the exit and entry slip roads. However, if the Netherlands were actually to find itself in a wartime situation, military transports could have major consequences for everyday traffic.
Infrastructure maintenance is also essential for military mobility
This figure shows two situations in which no regular transport, and therefore no military transport, can take place. 1) A defective bridge that no vehicle can cross and no vessel can pass under. 2) A subsided railway track that no train can run on: no passenger trains, and therefore no trains carrying military freight either.
Military transports affected by ageing infrastructure
The Netherlands Court of Audit notes that more needs to be done to bring the infrastructure up to standard. This is partly because the known problems with infrastructure maintenance and renewal also affect military mobility. In practice, insufficient funding for maintenance already means that parts of the infrastructure have deteriorated to the point where they can no longer be used in the normal way. This results in restrictions on use: for example, vehicles may have to travel at lower speeds or comply with weight restrictions. Military transports are also affected by these restrictions.
Barbara Joziasse, a member of the Netherlands Court of Audit’s Board, therefore stresses the importance of maintenance: “Civilian and military uses of infrastructure overlap. Military transports, like ordinary traffic, are affected by the backlog of maintenance work. And once a bridge has been strengthened for military purposes, it can then also be used by heavy goods vehicles. The problem is that substantial funding is already needed for the maintenance and renewal of civilian infrastructure, while an additional €5 billion or so will be needed if the Netherlands is to meet all the technical requirements for military transport. Funding and capacity are finite. This creates dilemmas: it is likely that not everything will be possible, so difficult choices will have to be made”.