The Dutch are preparing for a rail freight debate on 17 June. State Secretary for Infrastructure Annet Bertram informed parliament of the government’s views ahead of time: it aims to achieve a structural strengthening of rail freight transport, for both civilian transport and military mobility.
The Netherlands will take a tangible step in that direction. It will invest “up to a billion euros” in rail freight, according to State Secretary Bertram. That sounds like good news, but Bertram also makes sure to temper the expectations.
The state secretary elaborates that the government wants to achieve a structural strengthening of rail freight, both in the civil sector as well as for the military. However, she says, “I have to make tough choices for that. Due to limitations in financial resources and implementation capacity, not all ambitions can be realised.” The ambitions referred to are those defined in the Dutch rail freight vision for 2050.
There is money for infrastructure, but what about TACs?
What will the Netherlands spend those one billion euros on? The list includes ongoing programs such as the High-Frequency Rail Program and ERTMS, maintenance projects, construction projects in port areas, and the 740-metre trains programme. “In the past period, approximately 200–250 million euros in additional funds have been made available through various decisions”, says Bertram, “including for increasing rail capacity in the Port of Rotterdam (130 million euros), the development of 740-metre track (39 million euros), and future-proof use of [rail yard] Kijfhoek (30 million euros).”
In other words, there is money available for infrastructure works. Investments to limit increases in track access charges and other fees are not on the agenda.
Perhaps the Dutch government does not consider such investments to be necessary, despite the many calls from the industry to make rail freight operations more affordable. “I currently have no additional resources in sight regarding the cost development of rail freight transport in the shorter term”, Bertram says. “However, I do see developments outside of rail freight transport that contribute to a more level playing field between modes of transport, such as the introduction of EU ETS-2, the European CO2 Emissions Trading System, in the transport and construction sectors.”