Polish rail operator HSL Polska is the latest company to introduce freight services in Belgium, national infrastructure manager Infrabel has announced. It will initially run services between Zeebrugge Ramskapelle and Aachen in Germany, reports metrotime.be

HSL Polska is part of HSL Logistik, a German company that operates in The Netherlands, Austria, Poland and the Czech Republic. Frédéric Petit, spokesman for Infrabel, said HSL Polska would carry all types of goods in Belgium, and the aim is for it to eventually run services to the Port of Antwerp.

Core businesses

The company is the 12th goods operator to operate on the Belgian rail network, alongside B Logistics, Captrain Belgium NV, Crossrail Benelux NV, CFL Cargo, DB Cargo NL, DB Schenker Eurocargo Rail, Europorte, Rail Traxx, Rotterdam Rail Feeding, SNCF Fret and Trainsport AG.

Infrabel meanwhile is continuing its drive to reduce its number of subsidiary companies, keeping only those necessary for its core businesses, namely the maintenance and development of the rail network. It began the process in January 2014, with the aim of reducing its subsidiaries from 23 to 11 by the year 2020.

As of January 2nd this year there were 17, after Infrabel approved a merger between railway specialists SA Ixillion, which specialises in IT infrastructure, and TUCRAIL, a consulting firm specialising in civil engineering.