The Nederlandse Spoorwegen (Dutch Railways), the Cityregio Rotterdam, the city Rotterdam and the ministries Verkeer en Waterstaat en VROM have reached an agreement regarding the main points for Rotterdam Central Station. The existing stationbuilding will remain and be incorporated in the extensionplans. The available budget is now â⬠409 mln, just over half of the amount which was calculated in the original plans.
Verkeer en Waterstaat will take part for â⬠154 mln, VROM for â⬠55 mln, the Cityregion Rotterdam and the City each for â⬠100 mln.
The original plan, designed by British architect William Alsop, would require an investment of â⬠875 mln. The State thought this investment was too large and asked Rotterdam to come up with a more sober version of the plan. The station has to be adapted to the arrival of the Hogesnelheidslijn (High Speed Line) and Randstadrail. Als the number of passengers is expected to increase from 40 mln. to 75 mln per year in 2025. The present building is not calculated for these numbers nor the infrastructure this requires.
Tha large real estate owners of the area, particularly Rodamco Nederland and ING Real Estate, have not been involved in the development of these plans. A complete development of the whole area with a high ambition level appeared not to be possible. According to Ontwikkelingsbedrijf Rotterdam (Developmentcompany Rotterdam) possible real estate developments will have to be looked into at a later date.
