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Badgers have dug their homes under a main railway line in the Netherlands, leaving tens of thousands of passengers facing delays.
Train traffic has been halted, possibly for weeks, between the two main southern cities, Den Bosch and Eindhoven, because of concerns that badger tunnels have damaged the ground beneath the tracks.
But the company that maintains the country’s rail network says the animals are protected by law and must be removed before repairs can begin.
“Badgers are wonderful animals … but they are clearly a problem for our safety on the rail,” said Aldert Baas, a spokesman for ProRail.
The Dutch government on Wednesday said 50,000 people a day use the affected train lines. Travelers may be transferred to buses or follow a different route, adding 30 to 60 minutes to their journey.
The plan to get them back on track is to build a new house nearby for the badgers and then put a metal barrier along the track to prevent them from coming back.
Baas said it’s unclear how long that period will last.
Dozens of caves near the track
The badger, not an endangered species, nearly died out in the Netherlands in the 1980s but has since made a strong recovery.
Vivianne Heijnen, deputy minister of traffic and infrastructure, said in a letter to parliament that there are 40 places where badger dens, known as setts, are close to railway tracks.
“I have asked ProRail to keep an eye on the badgers’ activities,” Heijnen said.
“Once completed, the process will be evaluated for possible improvements.”
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