Not a word about rail freight in Dutch coalition agreement

It was a long and complex process, which many expected to fail at one point or another. After half a year, the Dutch coalition negotiations have ended with an agreement between four right-wing parties. The Dutch rail freight sector will likely look at the agreement with a sense of disappointment, because the agreement makes not…

Dutch advisory body appeals to coalition negotiators: “Create level playing field”

The Dutch rail freight committee has presented a letter of appeal to government negotiators. In the letter, the committee requests the next government to take concrete steps for the betterment of Dutch rail freight. A level playing field, environmental challenges and decarbonisation feature as major points of attention in the appeal. The Dutch rail freight…

PKP Cargo launches Rotterdam connection from new intermodal terminal

Polish rail freight operator PKP Cargo is launching a new international connection to Rotterdam. Trains will depart twice a week from a newly built intermodal terminal in Karsznice, central Poland. The company says that the new route is part of a larger strategy for intermodal transport in the region. The Polish rail operator will be…

North-South Europe fresh produce train may start trial in late 2024

A new rail freight route carrying fresh produce will start a pilot in late 2024. On a weekly basis, a train will make a return trip between Oslo and Valencia. The train will save time and emissions, but faces bureaucratic hurdles. Frederik Zevenbergen, a representative of the Dutch province of Zuid-Holland, presented the plan at…

Dutch rail freight volumes fell by 10% in 2023

Rail freight volumes in the Netherlands fell by ten per cent in 2023. In its annual rail freight report, Dutch infrastructure manager ProRail explains that it was mostly external factors that contributed to the drop. As a result, operators have cancelled various charters throughout the past year. Rail freight volumes amounted to 42,7 million tonnes […]

Kombiverkehr launches regular service between Rotterdam and Cologne-Eifeltor

German rail freight operator Kombiverkehr is launching a new service between Rotterdam and Cologne-Eifeltor. The service will run three times a week and is available for nearly all types of goods, except dangerous goods of class 7. The new route will launch on 12 March and allows for intermodal transport with P400 loading units. It […]

Rail Cargo Group launches Linz-Duisburg-Rotterdam connection

The Austrian national rail freight operator Rail Cargo Group (RCG) is implementing a new TransFER connection between Linz, Duisburg and Rotterdam. The new link can be seen as an extension of the Linz-Wels-Duisburg RCG connection. This, as the company pointed out, will create a direct link stretching from Austria to the Netherlands. The service will […]

Rotterdam: hazardous goods wagons banned from Pernis shunting yard

The shunting of wagons containing hazardous substances has been suspended at the Pernis railway yard in Rotterdam. The suspension follows the identification of leaks in the yard’s fire extinguishing facility, said Dutch Infrastructure Manager ProRail. The situation at Pernis will be further investigated with internal and external specialists during this week. Based on the results […]