DUTCH STEAM LINE HIT BY NEW EUROPEAN REGULATIONS
A cross‑border preserved line in the Netherlands has been forced to cut back its services because of new European regulations. The 29‑kilometre South Limburg Steam Train Company (Zuid‑Limburgse Stoomtrein Maatschappij ‑ ZLSM), which runs between Kerkrade and Valkenburg in Holland, and Vetschau in Germany, cannot now operate over the final 3km of NS (Nederlandse Spoorwegen) main line metals between Schin op Geul and Valkenburg. This, says ZLSM Chairman Michel Schellekens, is due to a new requirement laid down by the State Secretary and the Environment & Transport Inspectorate, stating that the steam railway’s volunteer drivers must work over the Valkenburg section for 46 consecutive days. Mr Schellekens said: “At the moment we have eight certified drivers and four who could go for a licence, but to spend 46 days in training is hard to do as a volunteer ‑ no employer will allow so many days off in a row.” ZLSM is appealing against the new regulations, claiming that the Inspectorate has not clarified the requirements for the 46‑day training. The first hearings for the appeal took place on April 28, with a final decision to be made within three weeks. In the meantime, ZLSM is unable to sell tickets to Valkenburg, forcing passengers to travel by Arriva service trains from there to Schin op Geul. Mr Schellekens said that it was hoped to clarify the situation in 2018 or 2019, but added: “The Inspectorate believes that anything old is tricky, so it would prefer us off the tracks.” Curtailment of services to Valkenburg negates a €200,000 investment made in the ZLSM by the regional and local authorities in 2007, to provide a cross‑ border service. As a double track preserved line, the ZLSM is twinned with the UK’s Great Central Railway. Its steam fleet includes a Hunslet ‘Austerity’ 0‑6‑0ST, NS No. 8826, as well as Swedish ‘B’ 4‑6‑0s Nos. 1220 and 1289, ‘E2’ 2‑8‑0 No. 1040 and ‘E’ 0‑8‑0 No. 1090.