In the design and construction, the HSL project organization takes as much account as possible of all interests, requirements and rules existing in our densely populated, watery land with its geologically complex soil, which is soft in many places. 

To prevent nature damage as much as possible and keep fragmentation of the landscape to a minimum, the railway line is harmonised optimally with the natural environment. And wherever possible, the line is integrated with existing infrastructure, such as roads and waterways. To the extent that it is necessary to sacrifice nature, everything lost will be compensated on a one-to-one basis: for each tree that is cut down, the HSL project organization plants a new tree elsewhere.

The result is an innovative and high-quality infrastructure that fits in with the landscape, leaves the ecology intact, and does not produce noise hindrance. 

To enable trains to reach a top speed of 300 km/hour on the Dutch railways, technology of the highest quality is required, especially in terms of railway foundation, safety systems and power supply.

Not a lot of strictly new technologies were developed for the HSL, but existing technologies have been optimised on a large scale and combined into an innovative overall system. One of the principal aspects, the safety of the transport system, has been fully integrated during all stages of the project: design, construction, and delivery. 

The HSL project/transport system is progressive, due to the manner in which all parties involved have worked together to harmonise the HSL with the landscape, the combination of different technologies, and the overall collaboration between the government and private parties.

To make sure that the high-speed trains can ride safely through, over and under the densely populated west and south of the Netherlands, the HSL includes a great number of new construction works. Along the HSL track, spanning around 100 kilometres, no less than 170 civil engineering structures, such as viaducts, fly-overs, dive-unders, bridges and tunnels have been built. These are all feats of technology that change the landscape and in a sense are an expression of our cultural identity.