Liege Airport and intermodal terminal operator Liège Logistics Intermodal (LLI) have announced a strategic partnership focusing on the creation of a major multimodal air-rail-road hub in the vicinity of the Belgian city. The hub, owned by economic development agency SPI, currently handles nine trains a week to Italy and three weekly trains from China.

First-phase development entails investment totalling 22 million euros and running to 2030, to modernise and expand the existing combined road-rail hub operated by LLI, located 1.5 kilometers from the airport and in close proximity to both the branch and high-speed railway lines that connect Liège to Brussels. Work will include bringing the rail tracks up to European standards, installing gantry cranes and upgrading access roads.

Second-phase work will focus on the addition of new access points and roadway modifications, the construction of a new goods storage and processing area and a horizontal piggyback loading platform. These developments will enable the rail-road platform to handle up to 45 trains a week, representing an annual capacity of 180,000 containers. Under the terms of the partnership, Liege Airport will acquire a 10 % stake in LLI.

Strategic hub

The partnership with LLI has been forged within a broader European context that is conductive to the growth of rail and river transportation, in alignment with the objectives of the European Union’s Green Deal and its sustainable mobility strategy, Liège Airport noted. Furthermore, the increasing costs of road transportation may make rail freight an even more attractive option in the coming years.

Laurent Jossart, CEO of Liege Airport underlined that the Airport’s strategic vision focuses on positioning itself as a provider of multimodal and sustainable (freight) solutions spanning air, road, rail, inland waterway and ocean transport modes. “This partnership with LLI represents the first tangible manifestation of this vision,” he added. Liege Airport is Europe’s fifth biggest hub for air cargo traffic and handles a broad range of goods that includes perishables, pharmaceuticals, express, e-commerce, medical and humanitarian aid and live animals.