Maasvlakte railway development

How can we help you?

Container traffic volumes at the Port of Rotterdam will only increase. Rail freight transport to and from the Maasvlakte, as well as in Europoort and Botlek, are set to continue growing over the coming years.

To accommodate this growth, the Port of Rotterdam Authority, ProRail, the Ministry of Infrastructure & Water Management and the European Union are investing in sustainable and efficient rail development.

Solving Maasvlakte rail bottlenecks

The Port of Rotterdam Authority and ProRail have developed a shared Logistics Vision for rail freight transport in the Port area. This plan provides insight into the (future) capacity bottlenecks on the port section of the Betuwe Route and offers concrete solutions. The Port of Rotterdam Authority, ProRail and the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management are working together to find solutions to these bottlenecks through targeted investments in both process improvements and infrastructure measures.

What will happen?

There are several infrastructure projects planned in the run up to 2040 to increase rail accessibility to the Maasvlakte. We are implementing these projects in phases, in collaboration with ProRail.

Start of construction of Maasvlakte-Zuid railway yard

The first phase of the construction of the Maasvlakte-Zuid railway yard is underway. This phase consists of the construction of six tracks (bundle 1) and will be operational by mid-2027.

The total development consists of:

construction of a new Maasvlakte-Zuid railway yard of up to 4 bundles of 6 tracks each suitable for 740-metre trains;
electrification of the distribution triangle and outer contour;
changes to the C2 bend;
and two through tracks.

Robust hinterland connection

ProRail and the Port of Rotterdam Authority are fully committed to a robust hinterland rail connection. All these investments are designed to improve international rail freight transport, reduce road transport, and provide a reliable alternative to inland waterways at low water. This represents an important contribution to the realization of the Climate Agreement and the European Green Deal, and we are working together to ensure greater accessibility for the Netherlands and the European hinterland.