Companies interested in the construction and operation of the Rail Terminal Gelderland in the Netherlands can join a so-called market day on 12 October. The province of Gelderland organises this information session in preparation for the tender, which will be released early next year. The terminal, which will be constructed in Valburg, is a new stop on the Betuweroute and will become part of the Rhine-Alpine corridor.

The province only calls on companies that are able to “play a supporting role” to come forward. The province will exchange information with these players about the basic principles of the project, such as the construction, exploitation, the connection to the Betuweroute and the concession and ground lease agreement. In this way, the province wants to enable interested companies to prepare for the tender.

Long-term ambition

The construction of a new terminal in the province of Gelderland has been on the agenda for more than twenty years. In June this year, the location of Valburg was agreed upon. Valburg is considered the ideal location to also serve mid, northern and eastern parts of the country. The terminal will form an additional stop on existing routes to and from the port of Rotterdam too, as there is already a lot of cargo from these regions destined for continental markets.

At the same time, the terminal can be the driver of new continental streams and services, and it could serve smaller ports such as that of Amsterdam, Moerdijk and Vlissingen. Logistics hotspots like Venlo and Tilburg could also benefit from the new terminal in the region.

Time frame

The choice for Valburg in June was formalised with the approval by the Provincial Council of the Province of Gelderland this summer. This was an important milestone for the realisation of the terminal. As the province pointed out in June, only an appeal could now stand in the way of realisation. This point was made as earlier, there has been criticism from the municipality of Overbetuwe, which feared noise pollution, increased freight traffic and less safety for cyclists.

However, works on the surrounding of the terminal have already started. The site of the future rail terminal will be connected to the Betuwe Route and the adjacent container exchange point. Preparations for this have commenced. The same is true for the access road to the rail terminal from Rijksweg Zuid. The province is responsible for the costs of access by rail and road. The future terminal site is expected to be accessible by the end of 2023.

Also read:

• Railterminal Gelderland one step closer to realisation
• Extra terminal on Betuweroute open in 2024
• New terminal on the Betuweroute