Port of Rotterdam Authority and Swietelsky Rail Benelux B.V. sign contract for construction of first track bundle for the Maasvlakte-Zuid railway yard

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Port of Rotterdam Authority and Swietelsky Rail Benelux B.V. have signed the contract for the construction of a bundle of six tracks suitable for 740-meter trains as part of the new Maasvlakte-Zuid railway yard.

Fltr: Egbert van der Wal, Boudewijn Siemons (Port of Rotterdam Authority) and John Weijtmans, Philipp Rainer (Swietelsky Rail Benelux B.V.).

This project was developed in close cooperation with ProRail and with the use of a European Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) subsidy. Swietelsky starts construction in the spring of 2025, with commissioning planned for mid-2027. Construction of the railway yard is necessary to facilitate the growth of rail freight transport from the Maasvlakte to the European hinterland. It is designed to solve the capacity bottleneck.

Signing of Safety Declaration by Egbert van der Wal (Port of Rotterdam Authority), John Weijtmans (Swietelsky Rail Benelux B.V.) and Jan Mulder (ProRail).

A reliable and competitive rail freight product is indispensable for Rotterdam’s position in the European hinterland. Container throughput at the Port of Rotterdam is set to grow steadily over the coming years. To continue transporting the increasing flow of containers efficiently to the hinterland, the Port of Rotterdam Authority, ProRail and the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management are investing in sustainable and efficient rail development.

Achieving climate goals

The construction of the Maasvlakte-Zuid railway yard is part of the Port Authority’s efforts to encourage rail freight transport. Rail freight transport has lower emissions of CO₂, NOₓ and particulate matter than road transport. This is in line with the climate goals of the EU Green Deal, which aims to reduce transport emissions by 55% by 2030 and 90% by 2050. The development of the yard will help the Port of Rotterdam Authority reduce CO₂ emissions from hinterland and continental transport by 30% by 2030, in accordance with the Climate Agreement. The Port Authority expects further construction of the yard to stimulate 6,750 additional train combinations annually between the Maasvlakte and the hinterland. This is equivalent to replacing 675,000 truck journeys per year.

Optimising rail freight transport

The Port of Rotterdam Authority and ProRail have drafted the 2050 Port Rail Logistics Vision. This plan provides insight into the future capacity bottlenecks on the Port Railway line and how they can be remedied. A number of infrastructure projects is planned in the period up to 2040 that will increase rail accessibility to the Maasvlakte and optimise the logistics process and make it more sustainable. These projects are being implemented in phases in cooperation with ProRail. In addition to the construction of the Maasvlakte-Zuid railway yard, the C2 curve will be modified and further electrification of the Port Railway line will be pursued.