The Dutch infrastructure ministry has presented its policy agenda for freight transportation. One of the main goals is to stimulate a multimodal approach. The country has no way around that, according to the government. Are the proposed measures enough for success, however?
Densely populated areas and nature protection laws make it difficult to expand infrastructure in the Netherlands. “The limited [available] space and high demand makes […] that each mode of transportation is necessary to transport the needed goods”, the policy agenda explains. “Some routes can be busy. By focusing on the right mode of transportation, the pressure on these routes can be reduced.”
The infrastructure ministry highlights four policy plans to promote multimodal transportation. It wants to eliminate obstacles to multimodal operations, focus on the advantages that each mode of transportation offers, focus on corridor-based operations and develop multimodal nodes.
In practice, this means that the ministry will “challenge” stakeholders to develop multimodal operations, the document says. It also mentions 740-metre trains, a connection to the “Third Track” in Germany, TEN-T links and harmonised international rules as steps that should help make multimodality a standard option for transport.
Moreover, the Netherlands wants to continue developing multimodal hubs to streamline operations in those locations. It mentions places such as Rotterdam, border town Venlo and the industrial port Moerdijk.
Little budget for these Dutch ambitions
The policy agenda not only focuses on rail, but emphasises that trains are suitable for long-distance movements. Inland shipping is the preferred choice for bulk, and air for fast deliveries and high-value freight. The road offers short-distance flexibility.
That is the vision that the Dutch infrastructure ministry has formulated in short. It is accompanied by a budget of 79 million euros for the coming three years. The goals, including a “large impulse in logistics by resolving logistical bottlenecks”, seem rather ambitious if supported by a relatively meagre budget – even if it would all go to rail infrastructure (which it won’t).
To break it down: the Netherlands is allocating 9 million euros to a modal shift subsidy. 42 million euros will be spent on using “the right mode of transportation at the right time and place” (including infrastructure projects), 30 million of which go to the often unprofitable single wagonload operations at rail yard Kijfhoek.
Furthermore, 8 million euros will be spent on digitalisation. Lastly, 20 million euros will go to the abovementioned “large impulse in logistics by resolving logistical bottlenecks” at nine different locations in the country.
Putting it in perspective
One can reasonably wonder how 20 million euros over three years will translate into a large impulse for multimodal transport at nine different locations. These hubs can count on an average budget of 740,000 euros each annually. By comparison: a planned turnback siding in the south of the Netherlands is projected to cost either 50 million euros or 190 million euros, depending on the chosen location. The ministry concedes that “not all ambitions for the coming five years can be fulfilled with this.”
Moreover, if the Netherlands spends 9 million euros on a modal shift subsidy, then Germany spends nearly over three times as much in track access charge subsidies per million tonne transported via the railways, based on 2024 data. As it stands now, the Dutch policy agenda will likely fall short of having a real impact. That is a concern, considering that rail traffic will have to grow to around 60 million tonnes (+50%) annually by 2030, according to infrastructure minister Robert Tieman.
Dutch rail freight reacts
The Dutch rail freight association RailGood responds to the policy agenda on LinkedIn: “Many words, little vision”. RailGood underlines that the Netherlands needs to meet structural conditions to make rail competitive on long-distance operations: restrictions on infrastructure fees, a minimum investment of 140 million euros for 740-metre trains, ERTMS implementation and “the basics in order”. That means reliable infrastructure, accessibility of terminals and redundancy, RailGood says.