> I'm not surprised, building a new high-speed line between the largest cities in the Netherlands must be a nightmare, that's connecting and going through some of the most densely populated areas in Europe.

Well, yes and no. Most of it goes through the 'green heart' of the most populated area. There's mostly farms there. The route also goes mostly along existing highways and train tracks so it was just a matter of widening the infrastructure zones that were already there. Holland is very planified so usually these things are already taken into consideration. We don't build housing right besides infrastructure anymore.

However, the environmental red tape is pretty heavy these days. The whole country is at a standstill (house building, traffic, farming) due to limits of nitrogen deposits being exceeded.

So I think it was more that than actual infringements on people's living space. Some tunnels and overpasses were made, yes. Those are the ones that are falling apart already after 10 years :')