BELGIUM: Rail freight operator Lineas and logistics company Tabaknatie have announced plans to set up container collection points outside Antwerpen in support of wider efforts to reduce the number of lorries on the city’s roads during disruption to be caused by the Oosterweel Link ring road construction scheme.
A rail and road hub would be set up along the E17 road corridor, where containers would be transferred to shuttle trains for onward transport into the port of Antwerpen. Lineas is working to identify a suitable location, with the two main options being the Gent port area or the surroundings of Kortrijk. It is envisaged the shuttle would be operational in 2022.
‘With the Oosterweel works, our mission of modal shift from road to rail has never been more relevant’, said Lineas CCO Lars Redeligx. ’With this rail/truck hub, we want to offer the market yet another solution that will immediately keep trucks out of rush hour and transport as much of their loads as possible by rail. This benefits both mobility and climate: trains emit nine times less CO2 and eight times less particulate matter.’
