NedTrain Cargo Support is to build maintenance facilities at Rotterdam Maasvlakte to serve the growing number of open access rail operators working out of the port. The first workshop will offer light wagon maintenance and running repair services, including lubrication and wheelset changes, and will be followed by a locomotive workshop at Waalhaven.
Rotterdam Municipal Port Management proposed the development of improved maintenance facilities within the port complex to encourage rail operators to serve Rotterdam from eastern Europe, Italy and Germany. Following the NedTrain board’s approval of the investment, negotiations for the first workshop will begin with construction firms, and building work is expected to begin in mid-2004, ready for opening in early 2005.
NedTrain Cargo Support is the international arm of the Dutch rolling stock maintenance and refurbishment company, and has workshops in Rotterdam and Duisburg. The firm’s existing locomotive and rolling stock facility in Rotterdam has been overtaken by the growth of the city, leaving it inconveniently sited. The new wagon workshops will be situated next to Rail Service Centre Maasvlakte, and ideally placed near the major container and bulk freight terminals. Both this workshop and the proposed Waalhaven loco facility will be better placed for access to the Betuwe Route freight corridor.
