A win and a loss for rail freight in the Netherlands. The Dutch parliament held a vote on Monday 19 May on two proposals to enable more competitive rail freight. One of them passed with a clear majority, and another fell short.
The successful proposal includes a call for the government to have a plan for 740-metre trains ready by the end of 2025. This, the parliamentary motion specifies, is necessary for competition with the road, climate targets and military mobility.
That does not mean that parliament wants 740-metre trains to become possible all across the country – it only singles out the Brabant, Betuwe and Bentheim routes. Those are crucial for freight traffic, especially from the Port of Rotterdam towards Germany. Fortunately, the Netherlands has already allocated money for those upgrades, but real work is lagging. In addition, the Dutch parliament calls upon the government to agree with Germany on cross-border coordination, especially in the direction of Poland and Czechia.
TACs and other fees
Besides 740-metre trains, there was a proposal on the table to return track access charges (TACs), as well as parking and shunting fees, to 2022 levels. “Rail freight has been shrinking for three years and its competitiveness is under pressure”, the parliamentary motion says. TACs have grown significantly since 2022 and will be much higher than in other countries until at least 2029.
Moreover, parking and shunting fees have multiplied six-fold since 2023. That is a major burden for the rail freight industry in the country financially, but also hinders a modal shift, because the road sector does not pay similar fees.
The TAC and fees proposal could not count on significant support in parliament. It fell short of a majority, getting only 45 votes out of the needed 76.