The share of rail transport in the port of Antwerp should doubled in the coming decade. This concerns the transport of containers coming in by ship to the hinterland. Port of Antwerp, Railport Antwerp and the Flemish rail manager Infrabel have concluded an agreement to achieve this goal.

The three companies announced this on Thursday 28 November. Currently, about 7 per cent of sea containers enter the hinterland via the railways. In 2030, that percentage must have increased to 15. Transport by rail is better for the environment and can prevent traffic jams on the Antwerp ring road.

Digital platform

To achieve this, the three parties will develop a common digital platform. This should ensure an optimisation and better organisation of goods flows in the port area, so that the loading and unloading of containers can be better aligned with train traffic.

In addition, the three companies are looking into the possibilities for a better management model of the rail infrastructure in the port. What this model should look like in concrete terms is still unclear. They also want to develop a vision for the future of rail transport in the port.

Port of Antwerp

There are about a thousand kilometers of railways in the port of Antwerp. Last year, 24 million tonnes of cargo were transported by rail and 130 trains per day.