Betuweroute - best photo locations?

[D1511]

Hallo lieve Nederlandse vrienden!

I have a trip to the Netherlands early next month, and I was hoping to spend a day taking photos of interesting eurofreight on the Betuweroute.

The internet suggests the following locations:

CUP Valberg, at the western end

The Bemmel overpass cycle paths

Geldermarsen station and nearby cycle paths

Hardinxfeld-Giessendam

There is also Sliedrecht, although I understand views are a bit limited there.

I will have my own folding bicycle, so can travel a reasonable distance from the nearest NS station or tram/bus stop, and have wide angle and telephoto lenses for a range of perspectives.

Being a new line that brought considerable environmental controversy, I understand there are long sections in shallow cut and long runs of acoustic barrier, which limits good photo spots.

Can anyone share any details of the suggested locations above, or any other good ones they know of please?

I quite like the look of Valburg for the industrial/rural contrast, but trains will be moving slowly there. Geldermarsen is also appealing as old and new railway merge there, and I can also stop off at Houten for a visit on the way (so I can cycle my own Brompton around the planet's utopian cycling settlement!)

However, any suggestions would be very much appreciated.

One other question.....there are engineering works at the German end that cause services to be diverted away from the Betuweroute, so it would be good to know if they're happening between 2nd and 11th August!
(There was a link to a Prorail engineering timetable posted on a different thread on this forum but it doesn't extend to August 2026, and I can't find a newer version of it on the Prorail website.)

Dank u wel!

(Mods.....please move to photography if appropriate, but I doubt as many of our Dutch forum members will see this there.....)

 

[eastwestdivide]

I've linesided at Sliedrecht. Quite enjoyed it, a few viewpoints, strong sun can be challenging as there's a path/road on the N side of the line. I had some photos up on another forum but they don't show up any more.

 

[duesselmartin]

how busy is the line currently. The gaps between trains on the German side seem to be rather large.

 

[D1511]

I've linesided at Sliedrecht. Quite enjoyed it, a few viewpoints, strong sun can be challenging as there's a path/road on the N side of the line. I had some photos up on another forum but they don't show up any more.

Thanks. I saw your post in the other thread, but I read elsewhere about sun position in relation to the road and cycle track that runs parallel to the line. However, it's certainly on my list of options as it's one of the easiest to get to from my base at Lelylaan.

how busy is the line currently. The gaps between trains on the German side seem to be rather large.

That would certainly be good to know. I've read, on a good day, it's about a train every 10-15 mins each direction, but it would be good to have some local confirmation of that.

 

[eastwestdivide]

Sliedrecht in 2017. The last one is a nearby moving bridge with no wires where the trains just coast across.

 

[Bemined]

how busy is the line currently. The gaps between trains on the German side seem to be rather large.

There can be big gaps between trains yes, right now there seem to be about 3~4 trains per hour in each direction, but sometimes there are gaps of an hour between two trains. Early August Breda - Tilburg is closed due to renewal of the overhead line masts, so the Betuweroute might be a bit more busy then.

 

[DanielB]

Sliedrecht in 2017. The last one is a nearby moving bridge with no wires where the trains just coast across.

The last bridge is on the Betuwelijn by the way, not the Betuweroute. They do run mostly parallel, but the first one is for passengers and the latter for freight.
And as of next Friday that bridge will not be accessible for pedestrians / bikes anyway for nine months as during reconstruction of a nearby road bridge the bike lanes on the railway bridge serve as alternative route for emergency services.

Another thing to keep in mind when trying to reach stations near the Betuweroute: during those nine months of road reconstruction regular bikes are not allowed on the Dordrecht to Geldermalsen trains and there is a maximum allowed size for folded folding bikes (details at the Qbuzz website). Expect those trains to be busy as all buses north of the Beneden Merwede will connect to them so the passengers can cross the river by train as the buses can't cross it.

 

[D1511]

Sliedrecht in 2017. The last one is a nearby moving bridge with no wires where the trains just coast across.

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Thanks for those. Nice pics and it doesn't look a bad spot.

There can be big gaps between trains yes, right now there seem to be about 3~4 trains per hour in each direction, but sometimes there are gaps of an hour between two trains. Early August Breda - Tilburg is closed due to renewal of the overhead line masts, so the Betuweroute might be a bit more busy then.

Thank you. That might align nicely with my trip dates, so hopefully it will be a little busier. But quality always beats quantity anyway!

The last bridge is on the Betuwelijn by the way, not the Betuweroute. They do run mostly parallel, but the first one is for passengers and the latter for freight.
And as of next Friday that bridge will not be accessible for pedestrians / bikes anyway for nine months as during reconstruction of a nearby road bridge the bike lanes on the railway bridge serve as alternative route for emergency services.

Another thing to keep in mind when trying to reach stations near the Betuweroute: during those nine months of road reconstruction regular bikes are not allowed on the Dordrecht to Geldermalsen trains and there is a maximum allowed size for folded folding bikes (details at the Qbuzz website). Expect those trains to be busy as all buses north of the Beneden Merwede will connect to them so the passengers can cross the river by train as the buses can't cross it.

That's really helpful, thank you very much.
I'd be travelling to Geldermalsen from Utrecht on a Den Haag - s'Hertogenbosch Sprinter, so the QBuzz bike restrictions shouldn't bother me.....although I note my folded Brompton is within the QBuzz maximum dimensions anyway.

That's quite a bridge replacement project.....thanks for the link!

 

[eastwestdivide]

The last bridge is on the Betuwelijn by the way, not the Betuweroute

Yeah, perhaps I should have made that clearer. Included it for interest, as it‘s not something you really see in the UK

 

[D1511]

Well, I'm back from my few days in the Netherlands.

There may well have been some engineering works or something else going on.......because, if not, the Betuweroute seems to be an astronomical waste of money for the small number of trains I saw using it.

After giving up on Geldermalsen and then, subsequently, Sliedrecht, for a severe lack of trains, I settled at Zwijndrecht for a while, where things improved no end. Kijfhoek is nearby, and a procession of interesting freights left one after the other coming east through the station.

Zwijndrecht also offers the additional attraction of a magnificent lifting bridge to watch, when 4 tracks and associated OLE are lifted about 15m vertically to allow larger barges to pass under on the Oude Maas waterway. It lifts surprisingly frequently, and to no planned schedule that I could identify, so it got me wondering how it is dealt with in NS timetables ......

I also loitered at Dordrecht for a while, and saw some interesting things there, including a very long ore train from Austria (OBB branded wagons) hauled by a Stadler Class 9x lookalike.

A very enjoyable outing in the end, and I saw some bits of the Netherlands that a lot of tourists wouldn't ordinarily visit. But the Betuweroute was a bit of a disappointment.......but perhaps I was just unlucky with the times I was lineside at Geldermalsen and Sliedrecht.

Geldermalsen was a lovely place though, inhabited largely by friendly posh folk of retirement age who were most interested in why I would visit their little town! Most people I chatted with had visited Scotland at some time, and were delighted to hear I came from there.

Geldermalsen also has a very fine pub/restaurant where I had an excellent lunch......something I didn't find in Zwijndrecht, which is a rather more 'functional' settlement! I had my evening meal in the rather more urbane Rotterdam instead.......and any visit to the magnificent Rotterdam Centraal is always worthwhile.


The Betuwelijn, near Sliedrecht


Zwijndrecht....a freight coming out of Kijfhoek yards


Zwijndrecht again


The splendid lifting bridge at Zwijndrecht


Station Dordrecht

 

[eastwestdivide]

Thanks for the report. Two designs of fairly elegant overhead line supports in your photos.

 

[D1511]

Thanks for the report. Two designs of fairly elegant overhead line supports in your photos.

Yes, I noticed some nice sleek OLE in a number of places, and wondered why ours all looks so ugly!

 

[DanielB]

Despite your observation, the bridge between Zwijndrecht and Dordrecht has actually set opening times to which the train timetables are adjusted.
It should open at the times indicated here.

 

[Struner]

Thanks, as far as I remember the bridge - local nickname “hemelbed”, four poster bed - opens every hour, ~ on the hour, on demand. Did you take any photos of the ship(s) passing? Inland barges should be able to pass anyway.
As for Geldermalsen, nice place indeed, my brother in law(80+) lives there…

 

[D1511]

Despite your observation, the bridge between Zwijndrecht and Dordrecht has actually set opening times to which the train timetables are adjusted.
It should open at the times indicated here.

Ah thank you. I did notice a barge carrying a large silo waiting downstream of the bridge for a while, but according to the timestamp on the photo, it didn't open at any of the times indicated! But that certainly answers my question about train timetables, thanks

Thanks, as far as I remember the bridge - local nickname “hemelbed”, four poster bed - opens every hour, ~ on the hour, on demand. Did you take any photos of the ship(s) passing? Inland barges should be able to pass anyway.
As for Geldermalsen, nice place indeed, my brother in law(80+) lives there…

I didn't take any pictures of the large barges, and most of them could pass comfortably underneath anyway. But this one big grain silo thing on a barge being towed by two tugs required the bridge to open.....and a bit later than on the hour.
The bridge's nickname is very apt!

And thanks for confirming my view of Geldermalsen! It is lovely, with some beautiful old properties. If your brother-in-law was tending to his garden last Thursday morning, I may have spoken to him!