{"id":410921,"date":"2026-04-22T19:42:53","date_gmt":"2026-04-22T09:42:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.railfreight.com\/?p=70746"},"modified":"2026-04-22T19:42:53","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T09:42:53","slug":"reverse-modal-shift-and-more-diesel-consumption-after-dutch-fuel-tax-break","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=410921","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Reverse modal shift and more diesel consumption\u2019 after Dutch fuel tax break"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Netherlands is planning to give heavy trucks a tax break starting on 1 July. This should help the trucking industry to overcome the challenges of the fuel crisis. Rail freight feels forgotten, how could authorities overlook the energy-efficient trains?<\/strong>
\n<\/span>Even though the modal shift is official policy, the fuel crisis is not enough to change the Dutch approach to transport and logistics. The road sector remains the preferred mode of transportation, as evidenced by a tax break for trucks and the absence of a plan to make better use of rail.<\/p>\n

The Dutch situation is a specific example, but could play out in other European countries too in the months ahead. Rail freight is disappointed, to say the least. The Netherlands\u2019 rail freight association RailGood told RailFreight.com that it, together with DB Cargo, reached out to parliamentarians to make their position clear ahead of an upcoming debate.<\/p>\n

How to reduce the use of fuel?<\/h2>\n

RailGood and DB Cargo point out that the tax break for trucks is no way to reduce fuel consumption. Rather, the highly price-sensitive transportation market will see a reverse modal shift back to trucks because of the tax benefit. This will lead to higher consumption of diesel. However, the Dutch government had earlier told freight transportation businesses that it sought to \u201creduce diesel use by stimulating the modal shift to more fuel-efficient modes of transport\u201d.<\/p>\n

An argument in favour of the railways is that it operates six times more efficiently than trucks, when measured in energy used per tonne-kilometre.<\/p>\n

RailGood and DB Cargo plead for the Netherlands to halve parking and shunting fees in the country. \u201cThe recent past teaches us that the extreme increase of the infrastructure fees for parking and shunting of freight trains from 2023 onwards was the catalyst of an enormous reverse modal shift.\u201d That could be a way to reduce fuel consumption during the fuel crisis.<\/p>\n