The train station of the central town of Zaltbommel is getting the country’s first platform made of polystyrene.

It is the first time a Dutch train platform will rest on polystyrene across its entire width. The surface will be covered by concrete slabs.

Owing to the light-weight material, which can be cut to size with chain-saws, the whole platform will be finished in three weekends. Normally, building a new platform takes weeks.

The light-weight material makes it also possible to build large structures on soggy soil and dykes, as is the case of Zaltbommel, which lies on the southern bank of the Waal, one of the country’s biggest rivers.

In all, Zaltbommel’s ageing train station will get 260 metres of new platform.

(cl/tt)

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