Around the Tracks: Sustainable urban rail integration in Maastricht

Exactly two years ago, we penned the Master Plan Vision "Above the Track". The focus of that document was on "healing" the "rail rift" that divides the right bank of Maastricht into an eastern and western part. However, our proposal to tunnel the tracks from Maastricht Central Station to the southern station of Maastricht Randwyck contributed only minimally to the so-called "rail benefits" for train travelers, especially when compared to the substantial costs associated with the tunneling project. This led us to draft this new proposal: "Above the Track 2.0" or, even better, a Master Plan Vision "Around the Tracks". This new proposal has a different central focus: making better use of the considerable space currently occupied on Maastricht's right bank by the "rail delta." This so-called "non-descript" space in Maastricht is extensive due to the historical development of railways to and from the border town of Maastricht in the 19th century. This historically grown space offers very concrete possibilities for addressing the substantial housing and office needs in Southern Limburg. It not only aligns with the recent plans of the Limburg province and Minister Hugo de Jonge to focus on the six Limburg cities with a public transport hub but also fits well within the sustainable urban development of public transport. At the same time, this new advisory report builds on the previous "Above the Track" report, but now with a sharper focus on both healing the "rail rift" and realizing "rail benefits". Given Maastricht's international ambitions, particularly its role as an international hub for rail traffic, this report was written in English. The report builds on the numerous comments that our first proposal, "Above the Track", received. We owe thanks to many: citizens from various neighborhood platforms, officials from the municipality of Maastricht, councilors John Aarts and Frans Bastiaans, ProRail officials, Martijn Gesink from KODOS, Jeroen Diks from BBN, as well as Harry Reijnders, former NS chief architect, for detailed feedback on our initial report. The support from the many visitors to the "Above the Track" exhibition, organized with the support of Wim Hupperetz, the director of Centre Céramique, held there in the summer of 2022, served as a continuous source of inspiration. It has led us to this new vision, which we have titled "Around the Tracks". In this English-language report, we also consider it as a case study for "sustainable urban rail integration." We are deeply grateful to Alexei Gleizer, Sada Shirafuji, and Cees van Giessen for their tireless efforts in developing the numerous figures. However, the vision and proposals described here fall under our full responsibility.