Dutch rail freight is awaiting another tough year. After volumes dropping for two consecutive years, trains will likely transport even less freight in 2026. Operators have requested 14% fewer timeslots than in 2025, says infrastructure manager ProRail.
The underlying reason for the incoming drop is a toxic mix of circumstances. For example, infrastructure works between Emmerich and Oberhausen in Germany limit the capacity of freight trains to transport goods to the hinterland.
Even more importantly, critical industrial sectors for rail freight are facing economic headwinds. In particular, coal used to account for a quarter of the total freight volume in 2014, but the energy transition has considerably reduced the demand for it. As of 2024, coal constituted merely 12% of all rail freight in the Netherlands.
It is especially shrinking demand for coal in Germany that is impacting Dutch rail freight, according to Dutch statistics agency CBS. As Berlin hopes to boost the share of renewables, coal disappears into the history books.
Key industries
What’s more, high energy prices are affecting the automotive, chemical and steel industries. Those are all traditionally important customers for rail freight operators. And with rail’s increasing costs, more companies are looking to the road or inland waterways for their transportation needs.
This is also visible in the share of rail in the Port of Rotterdam. When it comes to hinterland transportation of containers, rail only manages to capture 9%. That stands in stark contrast with Rotterdam’s German counterpart Hamburg, where rail accounted for over 50% in hinterland container transports.