UPDATEThe emergency repairs on the Dutch railway network have been completed. This is reported by rail freight operator DB Cargo. Last night, several rail routes had to be closed as deficiencies were discovered in five...Read more
The port of Rotterdam is celebrating 10,000 trains passing through the Theemsweg route, which opened a few months ago. The new line, constructed explicitly to improve the port’s rail freight operations, seems like a great...Read more
Starting Tuesday 2 November, the Harbour Line to the port of Rotterdam is closed for all traffic. This will last until Monday 8 November. Throughout this week, the newly constructed Theemsweg route will be connected...Read more
The Dutch rail infrastructure cannot cope with extreme winter weather. It will require billions of euros to keep the rail infrastructure available under all circumstances, such as extreme heat in the summer, or winter weather...Read more
The Dutch infrastructure pricing regime is under examination. Track access charges in the Netherlands are way higher compared to Germany. Simultaneously, rail is more expensive than road transport. These differences hinder a level playing field...Read more
Railway workers in the Netherlands have announced a series of strikes from Wednesday to Saturday this week. The strikes are organised by trade union FNV Spoor, because no agreement could be reached with infra manager...Read more
740-metre trains have been tested on Dutch and German tracks for a few years now. The expansion takes place at a slow pace since infrastructure needs time to adapt to their use. However, according to...Read more
The landslide in the Middle Rhine Valley on 15 March continues causing significant disturbances on rail freight operations. After the incident, restoration works have been going on for more than three weeks now, while there...Read more
Public transport needs to become more resilient in the coming years. For the Dutch rail freight sector, the central issue is making a choice regarding the routing of goods trains from Rotterdam to North-East Europe....Read more
An investigation report with clear recommendations and concrete points for improvement to tackle the infrastructure problems in Rotterdam’s Harbour Line has been presented to the Dutch government. Infrastructure manager ProRail fully embraces the report and...Read more
Rail freight operators are fed up with the infrastructure problems on the tracks in the Rotterdam port area. They want ProRail to take responsibility and compensate all damage suffered. The damage is about 6 million...Read more
In 2020, ‘Follow the Germans’ will be an important theme for the Dutch rail sector. If the Netherlands works more with Germany by harmonising the specifications of ERTMS with Germany, to convert trains to ERTMS...Read more
To the annoyance of rail freight operators, freight trains with hazardous substances cannot be shunted on the intermodal yard of Rotterdam Waalhaven in the coming weeks. In September this year, these activities were forced to...Read more
Dutch access charges should be frozen until the infrastructure is managed properly by ProRail. This was a suggestion of member of Parliament Roy van Aalst (PVV). In a recent debate, he criticised the government and...Read more
RailGood, the branch organisation of the private rail freight carriers and operators in the Netherlands, has positively appreciated the government plans to reduce track access charges. The association considers that this measure will stimulate ‘a...Read more
Truckers on the main highways of the Netherlands will be taxed per kilometre from 2023 onwards. This is good news for the rail freight industry. “It means the end of a market disruption that has...Read more
The European Commission has approved a support scheme amounting to 70 million Euros in order to significantly reduce the track access charges for rail freight in the Netherlands. The scheme, which will run from 2019...Read more
In the Netherlands an incentive scheme is under discussion to discourage the use of busy sidings by making the less frequented sidings more attractive. Dutch infrastructure manager ProRail is negotiating such a measure with rail...Read more
