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By the end of last year the number of railway carriers
in the Rotterdam port area had increased further yet
again. The number of private rail freight carriers has
increased to thirteen, supporting a total of 23 rail
operators. German Rurtalbahn Benelux is one of the
most recent arrivals on the scene to date. Growth of
the rail business is vital to the Port of Rotterdam,
since it is currently plagued by a shortage of rail
transport capacity. Rail operators like the Swiss
Hupac Intermodal would be able to run a lot more
train between Rotterdam and Italy if capacity where
up to par.
Statistics leave no doubt that the freight rail industry
is booming in the Netherlands. Cargo volume
increased by eight percent last year, reaching a total
of 4.5 million tons. According to the Rotterdam based
Rail Cargo Information Netherlands bureau, there is
no reason to assume that this growth will not
continue into the next year. Rurtalbahn momentarily
operates a container train line running between
Rotterdam and Neuss, near Düsseldorf, three times
a week. This train's capacity, which it operates on the
behalf of ERS, amounts to 80 TEU.
Apart from this line, Rurtalbahn Benelux operates
a weekly service running from Veendam to Köln
Eifeltor, just to the south of Cologne. From this rail
terminal, the biggest in Germany, the company
offers connecting cargo dispatch. Rurtalbahn
transports a total of 2 million tons of cargo on
an annual basis.
ITL Benelux, based in Hendrik Ido Ambacht, a town
near Rotterdam, is another railway company that
recently joined the local pack. This private rail
company is a subsidiary of another company based in
Dresden. ITL Benelux is not only doing business in
Rotterdam, but in Antwerp and Zeebrugge as well. It
has commissioned eight locomotives, including four
of the V100 diesel type and another four electrical
186 class electrical locomotives. The latter are
capable of operating at four different voltages,
meaning they can be deployed almost anywhere in
Europe. The biggest advantage this type of traction
offers is the fact that it can be used on not only the
Betuwe Route between Rotterdam and Emmerich,
but on the Rotterdam-Venlo line as well. This will
enable ITL Benelux to operate non-stop services to
destinations in Germany, Switzerland, Austria and
Belgium. ITL Benelux intends to focus its efforts on
connections between the Port of Rotterdam and
Eastern Europe.
A Rurtalbahn locomotive was part of the inauguratory train that Queen Beatrix set into motion at the opening ceremony for the Betuwe Route
Photo: Wim Scheurkogel
The Polish private rail company CTL Logistics is
our third new kid on the block.
This company will be setting up train services
between the Port of Rotterdam and Easter-European
destinations. Carrying a total of 40 million tons of
cargo by rail every year, CTL is a sizable company.
Last year CTL, Poland's second biggest cargo carrier,
only outdone by the government controlled
PKP Company, passed Dutch administrative safety
benchmarks, clearing it for access to the entire
Dutch rail network.
CTL wants to introduce intermodal train services all
over the European Union, but it wants to expand
beyond EU borders as well. It has already signed
several bilateral agreements with freight rail carriers
in post-Soviet countries.
By now the company has set up a connection
between the Port of Rotterdam and Budapest. From
the Hungarian capital ICT offers connecting services
to Black Sea ports.
CTL's move to Rotterdam signals the arrival of a
major player in the freight rail industry. It has over
30 transfer stations, 5,000 freight cars,
170 locomotives and a fleet of road cargo carriers
at its disposal.
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