Lineas, Belgium’s largest rail cargo operator, says the recruitment of two new experienced rail freight industry professionals will help stimulate the company’s European and wider international operations.

Jan Elfenhorst and Gijsbert Spirinckx together bring more than 70 years’ experience to their respective roles, and are part of an investment from Lineas towards achieving a sustained modal shift from road to rail across Europe by putting the focus on the needs and demands of its growing international customer base.

‘entrepreneurial drive’

Elfenhorst will head up the company’s European Sales and Business Development, as well as the recently-established Lineas Deutchsland division. With over 25 years’ experience in the industry, he was recently Managing Director of DB Cargo BTT, specialists in chemical and hazardous goods’ transportation, and Vice President for Sales & Logistics Chemicals at DB Cargo.

“I have known Lineas for some time and have always been amazed by the passionate and entrepreneurial drive of the teams,” said Elfenhorst. “It’s a true pleasure for me to join a growing and innovative rail freight operator such as Lineas. Together we will have the incredible opportunity to make a real difference for the sector by re-inventing rail and leveraging all digitalisation & modernisation opportunities to the full, so as to serve our customers even better. Moreover, I am also driven by the passion to make a real positive impact on society through the modal shift.”

‘true European player’

Gijsbert Spirinckx also has decades of experience in the field, and was previously Head of Production and Transport Control at DB Cargo. As Operations Manager, he will ensure the smooth running of Lineas’ German operations: “It feels great to support a company like Lineas to achieve the modal shift and become a true European player,” said Spirinckx. “I like above all the challenge of joining an established and professional team with a start-up mentality. I am highly motivated to contribute to the further development of Lineas by bringing more than 35 years of experience in the transport industry to the table.”

Geert Pauwels, CEO of Lineas, added: “As a private rail freight operator with strong European growth ambitions, I am very happy to see incredibly experienced and prominent rail freight professionals such as Jan Elfenhorst and Gijsbert Spirinckx join our company. Their commercial and operational expertise in the sector will give Lineas a true boost in convincing even more clients to shift the transport of their goods from road to rail by opting for compeititve and reliable rail solutions such as our renowned Green Xpress Network.”