The Port of Rotterdam has welcomed the first partners to the Container Exchange Route (CER).
Rotterdam World Gateway (RWG), the Delta terminal of Hutchison Ports ECT Rotterdam (ECT) and Kramer Group will be the first users.
By the end of June 2022, the port had agreed with the Dutch Customs Administration to connect the State Inspection Terminal to the CER to strengthen the integrity of transports to and from this location.
The Port of Rotterdam Authority will now realise the connections to the sites and the connection to the Closed Transport Route.
The first transports over the track are slated to take place by the end of 2023.
The Port Authority commissioned the CER to link deepsea container terminals, empty depots, rail terminals and distribution companies at Maasvlakte port area.
The CER represents a closed road network, about 17 kilometres long, which aims to reduce exchange costs between the various companies and further improve connections with the European hinterland.
The port said that carriers will have the option of using the track for manned transport.
READ: Port of Rotterdam suspends Container Exchange Route tender
“I am delighted that RWG, ECT, the Dutch Customs and Kramer Group will be the first parties to be connected to the Container Exchange Route,” said Allard Castelein, CEO Port of Rotterdam Authority.
“This commitment underlines the important role of the CER in future-proofing the container cluster in the port of Rotterdam.”
The container segment dropped by 4.4 per cent in the first nine months of the year, processing almost 11 million TEU.