Port of Rotterdam Authority and Swietelsky Rail Benelux B.V. have signed a contract for the construction of a bundle of six tracks suitable for 740-meter trains as part of the new Maasvlakte-Zuid railway yard.
This project was developed in close cooperation with ProRail and with the use of a European Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) subsidy.
Swietelsky is expected to start 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 and it is designed to solve the capacity bottleneck.
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 of The Netherlands are investing in sustainable and efficient rail development.
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 is anticipated to 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.
