The European Commission will provide 23 million euros for the renovation of the ‘Lillobrug’ rail bridge in the port of Antwerp. The bridge is an important infrastructure link for the chemical industry and container terminals in the area. However, it was decommissioned in 2019 after material fatigue of the bridge.

The ‘Lillobrug’ is the only rail connection over the Canal Dock in Antwerp, linking up to chemical industry and container terminals. The decommissioning of the bridge forced incoming and outgoing trains to detour. The distance that needed to be travelled increased by four times and caused additional waiting times. Consequently, the amount of trains recorded going to and from the zone connected by the bridge decreased by a third.

According to the Port of Antwerp-Bruges, the European funding is a recognition of the strategic importance of the bridge for smooth rail transport in the area. The EU will cover half of all renovation costs from the Connecting Europe Facility, of which 22,43 million will be allocated to the Port of Antwerp-Bruges and half a million euros to Belgian rail manager Infrabel.

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