In Roermond, Netherlands, the construction of a cable car to the popular outlet center has been proposed. © SI/Gemini (AI-generated)

Cities

Netherlands: cable car to the outlet center?

The city of Roermond is facing problems with traffic congestion: due to its location directly on the border with Germany, it attracts many visitors, especially because of the outlet center, where designer goods can be bought at low prices. A politician has suggested building a cable car as a possible solution.

Ekaterina Zakharova

29. April 2026

In the Dutch city of Roermond, politicians have proposed building a cable car that would lead to the Roermond outlet center, according to DerWesten.

The outlet is popular not only with locals but also with German visitors: people from across North Rhine-Westphalia travel to the Dutch border town to buy designer clothing at low prices. As a result, traffic jams occur regularly, and no solution has been found so far.

According to DerWesten, urban planner Cees Moison has suggested constructing a cable car. It could run from the German border through the city center all the way to the outlet.

The route would be about eight kilometers long, with a travel time of around 20 minutes.

Possible costs

The project’s initiators estimate that building the cable car could cost between 133 and 235 million euros. In addition, annual operating costs would amount to around 6.5 to 13.2 million euros.

So far, however, this remains only a proposal that was presented to Roermond’s mobility council.

The location of the outlet center

What customers think

The news portal DerWesten asked outlet visitors what they think about the new initiative. Some see the cable car as a good idea, but question where parking facilities for cars would be provided.

Others, however, believe the problem is exaggerated and that severe traffic congestion only occurs on certain days and at specific times of the week.