The Port of Rotterdam Authority and Swietelsky Rail Benelux B.V. have signed a contract to build a bundle of six tracks sufficient for 740-metre trains as part of the new Maasvlakte-Zuid rail yard.
This project was created in collaboration with ProRail and funded by the European Connecting Europe Facility (CEF). Swietelsky begins construction in the spring of 2025, with commissioning scheduled for mid-2027.
Construction of the railway yard is required to support the expansion of rail freight transit from the Maasvlakte to the European hinterland. It is intended to alleviate the capacity constraint.
A stable and competitive rail freight product is critical to Rotterdam’s position in the European hinterland. Container traffic at the Port of Rotterdam is expected to increase gradually in the next years.
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To continue effectively carrying the growing volume of containers to the hinterland, the Port of Rotterdam, ProRail, and the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management are investing in sustainable rail growth.
The development of the Maasvlakte-Zuid railway yard is part of the port attempts to promote rail freight transit.
The yard’s construction will assist the Port of Rotterdam to cut CO2 emissions from hinterland and continental transport by 30 per cent by 2030, aligning with the Climate Agreement.
The port anticipates that future expansion of the yard will result in 6,750 extra train combinations between the Maasvlakte and the hinterland annually. This equates to replacing 675,000 truck travels per year.
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The Port of Rotterdam and ProRail have developed the 2050 Port Rail Logistics Vision. This proposal outlines potential capacity limitations on the Port Railway line and how they might be addressed.
A variety of infrastructure projects are planned for the period up to 2040 to improve rail access to the Maasvlakte, optimise the logistics process, and make it more sustainable.
These projects are being implemented gradually in collaboration with ProRail. In addition to the building of the Maasvlakte-Zuid railway yard, the C2 curve will be renovated, and the Port Railway line will be electrified.
