Redistribution of transport of hazardous materials and external safety risks: the case of rail transport in The Netherlands

Since the late 1990s the debate in The Netherlands on the transport of hazardous materials by rail has intensified. The reason for this debate is the fact that most of the Dutch railway nodes are located in city centres. Risk is described by a formula in which the probability of an accident is multiplied by its effect. Although the probability might not be large, the effects of an accident can be. This article describes the effects of a new dedicated freight railroad on the risks on the adjacent area of an existing railroad. The assumption is that risks are redistributed. However this does still not match the policy goals set by the Dutch government. This argument will be built upon available transport flow figures, documents on risk standards and a reflection on the earlier mentioned formula.