{"id":230714,"date":"2025-06-06T20:05:37","date_gmt":"2025-06-06T10:05:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.railfreight.com\/?p=63037"},"modified":"2025-06-06T20:05:37","modified_gmt":"2025-06-06T10:05:37","slug":"erfa-spreads-the-rail-freight-message-in-dutch-parliament","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=230714","title":{"rendered":"ERFA spreads the rail freight message in Dutch parliament"},"content":{"rendered":"

When politicians talk about rail, you can usually be sure that they are talking about passenger trains. For that reason, an invitation to attend a rail roundtable in the Dutch parliament was an opportunity not to be missed for the European Rail Freight Association (ERFA). It took the chance to share some of rail freight\u2019s concerns with curious parliamentarians.<\/strong>
\n<\/span>Conor Feighan, general secretary of ERFA that represented the organisation in the Hague, is pleased that rail freight was invited. \u201cUsually, there is political attention only for passenger traffic, because containers don\u2019t vote\u201d, Feighan says.<\/p>\n

Getting the rail freight message out in the Dutch political echelons is an important step forward. After all, the Netherlands, with its Rotterdam port, is an important European logistics hub.<\/p>\n

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\"ERFA<\/p>\n

ERFA secretary general talking to Dutch parliamentarians. Image: LinkedIn. \u00a9 ERFA<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The bigger picture<\/h2>\n

However, explaining the needs of rail freight is not only about making rail freight work, says Feighan. \u201cHow do we ensure all modes of transport are working effectively? That is an important question to solve.\u201d One of his main messages to parliament is that we also need to ensure that ports\u2019 hinterlands work.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor example, container ships have grown immensely in recent decades. How do we handle that? Rail freight has a role to play there\u201d, says Feighan. A single freight train, with the right economies of scale, can replace 40 trucks and boost logistics efficiency.<\/p>\n

Moreover, ERFA highlighted that there needs to be international coordination, together with the rail freight industry, to maximise the amount of traffic during infrastructure works. Those often reduce logistical capacity on key routes.<\/p>\n

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The German infrastructure works on a key route just across the Dutch border are a case in point. Those will last for 80 weeks and were plagued by a lack of coordination between the two countries.<\/p>\n

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