In 1992 the German and Dutch governments signed the Treaty of Warnemünde, which addressed enhancing rail traffic and focused on the tracks from Amsterdam and Rotterdam to Duisburg.

On 16 June 2007, Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands presided over the opening ceremony for the 160 kilometers (99 mi) line that connects Rotterdam to the German border.

[2] Despite the TEN-T and bilateral agreements, Germany did not expect to complete reconstruction of their lines that connect with Betuweroute before 2015.

Compared with the previous rail route between Barendrecht and Elst the main deviations are: The most striking infrastructure that was built or reconstructed as part of the Betuweroute includes: When the line opened, project managers hoped within five years to reach a daily average of 150 freight trains.

[9] In the first six months of operation, the unfinished German connection and problems with safety equipment caused traffic to be light.

The Dutch Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management received 14,000 complaints against the northern branch alone, which was cancelled in 1999.

[16] University professors and official institutions heavily criticised the role of the government and ministers in relation to Betuweroute.