The growing freight vol-umes, the increasing pressure on roads and am-bitious environmental ob-jectives all demand a modal shift from truck to train. Sev-eral new container trains were introduced in 2019 and many other connec-tions raised their frequency.
The impact of roadworks on the Oosterweel road link has made rail transport even more important for Antwerp. Port of Antwerp, Railport Ant-werpen and Infrabel (track op-erator) last month announced collaboration plans to make the rail network between port and hinterland more competi-tive and reliable.
The focus lies on im-proving rail infrastructure in the port and on digitisa-tion, to make the rail system more efficient. The target has been set high: by 2030 some 15 per cent of freight transport between the port of Antwerp and its hinterland must travel by rail, up from the present figure of around 7 per cent.
List of new rail shuttles since 2019:
- Trier (Germany): new shuttle operated by Am Zehnhoff-Söns, frequency 2x per week, plan for 3x per week in 2020, connection to all maritime terminals (AG Terminal and MPET and PSA terminals)
- Frankfurt/Neuss/Germ-ersheim/Wörth am Rhein (Germany): increase in fre-quency with one additional train per week operated by MSC Medlog (MPET)
- Schkopau (Germany): increase in frequency from three to four, by operator Hupac (Combinant terminal)
- Schwarzheide (Ger-many): increase in frequen-cy from three to four, by op-erator Hupac (Combinant terminal)
- Neuss (Germany): new shuttle operated by Schweizerzug (Niederglatt – Neuss – Antwerp), 3x per week (AG and MPET Ter-minal)
- Frenkendorf/Nieder-glatt (Switzerland): two ad-ditional trains per week by operator Schweizerzug (AG Terminal and MPET)
- Basel (Switzerland): new connection by operator Contargo, 2x per week (AG Terminal and MPET)
- Athus (Belgium): in-crease in frequency from 10 to 12 trains per week, by operator TCA (AG Terminal and MPET)
- Ghent (Belgium): new shuttle, 3x per week via main hub with connection to AG Terminal, MPET and PSA terminals
- La Louvière (Belgium): increase in frequency from 3 to 4 shuttles per week by MSC Medlog (AG Terminal and MPET and PSA terminals)
- Slawkow (Poland): in-crease in frequency from 3 to 4 shuttles per week by Hupac (Combinant terminal)
- Istanbul (Turkey): in-crease in frequency from 1 to 2 shuttles per week by Hupac
