{"id":298295,"date":"2025-10-08T19:46:58","date_gmt":"2025-10-08T09:46:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.railfreight.com\/?p=66524"},"modified":"2025-10-08T19:46:58","modified_gmt":"2025-10-08T09:46:58","slug":"climate-activists-damage-rotterdam-port-railway","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=298295","title":{"rendered":"Climate activists damage Rotterdam port railway"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rail infrastructure in the port of Rotterdam has become a popular site for climate-related protests in 2025. Activists seem to target rail freight more and more often, which leads to dangerous situations. Sunday 5 October was a case in point, with damage to infrastructure as its outcome.<\/strong>
\n<\/span>A wave of rail blockades hit the Rotterdam port from April to June of this year. An activist group had set its sights on freight railways. In their view, the trains contribute to climate change by transporting coal and other pollutants. They also argued that rail freight plays a role in the Gaza war. \u201cAs long as the logistics empire is facilitating genocide, climate collapse and human rights abuses, we will block their business\u201d, the group stated at the time.<\/p>\n

The six rail blockades between April and June led to hundreds of thousands of euros in financial damages. Dozens of trains were stuck, which on April 24 led to 150,000 euros in damages per hour (the protest lasted for 3.5 hours in total).<\/p>\n

Back on the tracks<\/h2>\n

After a summer hiatus, climate activism is back on the Rotterdam railways. On Sunday 5 October, XR and two other groups occupied the railway to protest coal transportation. This time around, the protest was not so much about just \u201cblocking\u201d, but also \u201cundermining\u201d: the activists sought to remove the ballast from underneath the tracks, which would mean that trains would no longer be able to safely run there.<\/p>\n

“After inspection by the maintenance contractor, the damage turned out to be greater than expected”, a spokesperson of infrastructure manager ProRail told SpoorPro. “Ballast has also been removed from under the sleepers, and this requires repair with larger equipment.\u201d<\/p>\n

The municipality facilitates<\/h2>\n

“Demonstrating is a fundamental right\u201d, the spokesperson added, \u201cbut demolishing the track is not one of them,” she adds. The rail infrastructure manager previously called the action “unacceptable”. It wasn’t the first time that the activists removed stones from beneath freight railway lines, as they had previously done so in the port of Amsterdam.<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for the activist groups said they were not stopped by police, “not even when we went under the fence and removed stones.” The municipality announced last week that it would not ban the action and would facilitate it, specifically to ensure it was as safe as possible. The municipality position, similar to the one it adopted earlier this year, could not count on much sympathy from the involved rail parties.<\/p>\n