Badgers burrow under Dutch train tracks, causing huge travel delays

Photo / Pexels Daniel Frese

Badgers burrowing under rail tracks have halted trains in the northern and southern Netherlands, forcing lengthy cancellations on at least two lines.

All trains were halted on Tuesday afternoon on a busy line between the southern cities of Den Bosch and Boxtel after the animals dug into a dike carrying rails. The national railway company said the line would be out of service for at least a week.

The digging means “the rails can subside and then the safety of train traffic can no longer be guaranteed,” ProRail, the company that maintains the Dutch rail network said in a statement.

Earlier this month, badgers also burrowed under tracks near the northern village of Molkwerum in Friesland province, knocking a line out of service until next month while workers seek permission to shift the animals.

Badgers are protected animals in the Netherlands, so rail operators have to get permission to move them or disturb their habitat before repairs can begin.

John Voppen, CEO of ProRail, the company that maintains Dutch railroads, appealed for a speeding up of the procedures.

“In the interests of travellers and carriers, more space is needed to be able to take action more quickly,” he said in a statement. “We are of course in urgent consultation with the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management about this.”

ProRail says that badgers like digging into the steep sides of earthen dikes that carry many Dutch train tracks. That can cause the tracks to subside, endangering trains.

“Living together with badgers can be a real puzzle,” the company said on its website.

On this side of the world, animals have also caused some trouble on train tracks. In 2021, KiwiRail confirmed that livestock and cows were causing distressing situations as they wandered onto tracks when the surrounding areas didn’t have proper fencing. Auckland Transport also lists animals as one of the issues causing potential “obstructions” in a train’s journey.

- AP with additional reporting.