More electrified railway lines for southern yard in Port of Antwerp-Bruges
A great deal of railway tracks in the southern emplacement of the Port of Antwerp-Bruges has been electrified. Ten tracks in what is known as the ‘Bundle South’ have been equipped with overhead lines. This...Read more
Flemish ‘Bomb Railway’ cleared from ammunition
The first day of the extended Ascension Day weekend was by far the most exciting moment for the Belgian infrastructure manager Infrabel this year. The so-called bomb railway in Wildert near Essen (province of Antwerp)...Read more
The Netherlands and Belgium are neighbours yet so far in ERTMS rollout
Belgium prides itself that 52 per cent, or 3,333 kilometres, of its national railway network, is equipped with ETCS. Across the border in the Netherlands, by contrast, ‘only’ four lines are currently under ERTMS. Indeed,...Read more
Neutral shunting services in Antwerp-North mean ‘level playing field for all’
The marshalling yard at Antwerp-North, Belgium, applies a new model for shunting operations. A collaboration between the port of Antwerp-Bruges, Lineas, Railport Antwerp and Infrabel neutralises operations in the yard and makes them equally accessible...Read more
ProRail and Infrabel to improve rail infrastructure at the North Sea Port
ProRail and Infrabel, the Dutch and Belgian rail infrastructure managers will further collaborate with North Sea Port to increase rail freight between the two countries and start a follow-up study this year. The cooperation aims...Read more
Infrabel, BASF and Combinant start rail transformation at port of Antwerp
BASF, the chemical giant and Combinant, Belgium’s largest intermodal terminal, take their rail game seriously. Backed by Infrabel, Belgium’s rail infrastructure manager, the two companies aim to facilitate rail access to their locations within the...Read more
Rail investments in Belgium: Infrabel is grateful but not satisfied
Earlier this week, the Belgian government announced that it would allocate 250 million euros in the current budget for rail-related projects. In addition, a spokesperson from Infrabel told RailFreight.com that 200 million euros extra will...Read more
Infrabel may close lines if government doesn’t commit money
Infrabel, Belgium’s infrastructure manager, might decide to close some of its rail lines if the Belgian government does not accept the company’s demands for the future of rail freight. The government has launched a plan...Read more
Belgium gives green light to Rail Roadmap 2030 after year of talks
The action plan in Belgium to double the volume of rail freight transport by 2030 has been approved by the government. On Friday 30 September, the Council of Ministers approved the plan that was proposed...Read more
Rail investments in Ghent’s part of North Sea Port continue strong
The port of Ghent, part of the broader North Sea Port complex in Belgium, experiences a boom in rail investments. The Belgian government and Infrabel, the country’s infrastructure manager, are on a mission to renew...Read more
The lessons Infrabel learned from the flood: ‘We had never expected the rail embankments to become so unstable’
“The flooding of last year was the worst disaster we ever experienced on the Belgian railways”, said Bart Kamoen, civil engineer at Infrabel. How did Infrabel deal with the aftermath, and what is needed to...Read more
33,5 million euros investment aims to make the North Sea Port a rail hub
The Belgian infrastructure manager Infrabel and the Belgian government will invest an additional 33,5 million euros in the Ghent part of North Sea Port in the coming years. The plans foresee the addition of new...Read more
Belgium grants additional 357 million for rail, mostly benefitting freight
The Belgian government is making another 357 million euros available for the modernisation of the railway network, a fund that primarily serves to support freight rail transport. This is according to the infrastructure manager Infrabel.Read more
Rail freight even greener with these green sleepers
The first green sleepers in Europe will be seen in Belgium. The production of the sulfur-based units started yesterday at the site of manufacturer de Bonte in Henegouwen, Belgium and infra manager Infrabel has already...Read moreEuropean infrastructure CEOs discuss the future of TEN-T network
Today in Brussels, chief executives from rail infrastructure companies discussed the upcoming revisions of the TEN-T and RFC Regulations, the importance of international rail passenger traffic and acceleration of railway digitalisation.Read moreBelgian railways receive additional 250 million support
The Belgian coalition government reached a budget agreement last week. Railways receive 250 million extra in the next three years. Most of this will be invested in infrastructure, to further develop rail freight transport. Read moreNorth Sea Port maps out rail freight needs with Infrabel
North Sea Port and Infrabel are jointly launching Railconnect, a port rail team with representatives from both to encourage more use of rail. The port currently knows a modal split of 10 per cent for...Read more
North Sea – Mediterranean corridor operational again
The North Sea – Mediterranean rail freight corridor is open again for trains as of this morning (Monday, 16 August). The corridor was closed for weeks due to damage that occurred on its Belgian section...Read more
Lines restoration Belgium: four more routes operational
The race to restore Belgium’s southern railway network after the destructive floods is ongoing. On Monday, 2 August, four more lines returned to operations: Liege-Bomal, Gembloux-Auvelais, Sint-Joris-Weert-Ottignies and Ottignies-Wavre.Read more