{"id":406782,"date":"2026-04-16T17:14:45","date_gmt":"2026-04-16T07:14:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.railfreight.com\/?p=70623"},"modified":"2026-04-21T15:58:07","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T05:58:07","slug":"rail-freight-should-not-doubt-its-importance-says-port-of-rotterdam-coo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=406782","title":{"rendered":"Port of Rotterdam COO: \u201cI am a big fan of rail freight\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rotterdam is Europe\u2019s largest port, but rail freight still plays a limited role compared to road and barge transport. RailFreight.com<\/em><\/a>, a sister publication of WorldCargo News<\/em>, had an exclusive interview with the COO of the Port of Rotterdam, Berte Simons, who highlighted the current challenges and future opportunities to boost the modal shift.<\/strong>
\n<\/span>\u201cI am a big fan of rail freight, which should not doubt its importance\u201d, Simons stated, adding that the port is investing in various key areas to make it easier for customers to choose this mode of transport. Regarding infrastructure, for instance, one of the main projects is Maasvlakte Zuid, a new railway yard expected to be ready in 2027<\/a>, which will serve the Maasvlakte 2 industrial area. \u201cOnce it is ready, there will be no excuses not to use rail\u201d.<\/p>\n

Sharing idle assets<\/h2>\n

Other important investments are being made \u201cto stimulate companies to work together and facilitate information flows\u201d, Simons said. One example is the recently launched \u2018Track Together\u2019 project. Six of the main rail operators at the port can now share shunting capacity<\/a> through a new app called PortFlow, providing back-up procedures in case of need.<\/p>\n

Sharing assets such as shunting locomotives, or rather renting them to other operators through an auction-based procedure, helps avoid leaving them standing idle. \u201cThey are capital-intensive assets. When you are not utilising them, it is a waste of capital\u201d, she pointed out. With the new Track Together initiative, the hope is to make rail freight more flexible.<\/p>\n

These systems should be easier to implement in ports, Simons explained. Goods either start or end their journeys here, in most cases, providing a fixed variable. Thus, ports are the most suitable locations for similar measures and prove that they work. It is all about matching the timing and location of the idle assets to the needs of other operators, Simons mentioned.<\/p>\n

\"The
The RSC terminal in Rotterdam. Image: Shutterstock \u00a9 hans engbers<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Infrastructure works<\/h2>\n

Another well-known challenge for European rail freight is the amount of infrastructure upgrades that are taking place all over the continent after years of neglect. \u201cWe hear from forwarders that the infrastructure works in Germany are impacting the choices of shippers, which are impacting the modal shift. We are confident that things will pick up once the work is done, but the reality is that it will take a long time\u201d, she said.<\/p>\n

These projects are indeed a necessity to make rail freight more competitive, Simons acknowledged. However, there are often complications which lead to delays. \u201cThis is when it becomes painful\u201d, she stressed. Customers choose different modes of transport not only because the infrastructure is not ready, but also because there is uncertainty about when it will be ready.<\/p>\n

\n

European Cargo Experience 2026<\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n

Intermodal connectivity and the evolving role of terminals within the wider supply chain will be a central theme at this year\u2019s\u00a0European Cargo Experience 2026<\/strong><\/span><\/span>,<\/strong> taking place on May 6\u20137 in Gda\u0144sk<\/span><\/span><\/strong>. The two-day event will open with a dedicated terminal visit to Baltic Hub<\/span><\/span>, offering attendees first-hand insight into the latest expansion developments and operational enhancements, followed by a networking dinner later that evening. The conference programme will then continue with in-depth discussions on intermodal integration, the role of digitalisation and equipment enhancements, with further details available via the official event website and programme link.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rotterdam is Europe\u2019s largest port, but rail freight still plays a limited role compared to road and barge transport. RailFreight.com, a sister publication of WorldCargo\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20100,5791,3500,20119,12339,78,20001],"tags":[12159],"class_list":["post-406782","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-berte-simons","category-intermodal-transport","category-port-of-rotterdam","category-portflow","category-ports-terminals","category-rail-freight","category-track-together","tag-world-cargo-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/406782","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=406782"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/406782\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":410163,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/406782\/revisions\/410163"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=406782"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=406782"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=406782"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}