Extra financial support to get more freight on track 30/09/22

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Source: https://www.tijd.be/ondernemen/transport/extra-financiele-steun-om-meer-vracht-op-spoor-te-krijgen/10416991

 

 

Extra financial support to get more freight on track

By the end of this decade, more than twice as much freight should travel by rail as it does today. Federal Minister of Mobility Georges Gilkinet (Ecolo) plans additional subsidies for this, which should significantly reduce the costs of rail freight.

This is apparent from Gilkinet's freight transport plan that De Tijd was able to view and that was approved by the federal government on Friday. 'It's money time for the railway', it sounds. The De Croo government has included in its coalition agreement that the share of rail in total freight traffic must increase from 10 percent now to 20 percent by 2030.

 

Gilkinet wants to eliminate a significant cost handicap of freight rail through subsidies for four years. The rates that rail freight companies now pay to rail network operators such as Infrabel are often so high that road transport is much cheaper, although rail transport is much more environmentally friendly.

The essence

  • Federal Minister of Mobility Georges Gilkinet (Ecolo) is working on extra money for rail freight companies.
  • By lowering the rates for the infrastructure fee, rail freight should be able to compete on costs with road transport.
  • Gilkinet is counting on being able to release money for that reduction during the upcoming budget conclave.

By artificially lowering the costs of the infrastructure fee, rail freight can compete with road transport. 'European studies into previous similar measures abroad show that this measure works well,' says Gilkinet. To reduce infrastructure costs by 1.2 euros per train kilometer each year, 13 million euros is needed. Gilkinet is counting on being able to guide this through the budget conclave without any problem. Other ways of reducing the cost disadvantage compared to road transport are also being explored together with the rail operators.

 

The majority of the 27 action points to make freight rail more attractive is based on the new management agreement for the rail network operator Infrabel. This must soon be definitively approved and must provide 300 million euros of extra investment money per year up to and including 2033, 3 billion euros in total.

 

That money will primarily go towards eliminating backlogs in the maintenance of existing railways. Large parts of the Belgian track are in poor condition, which means that trains are only allowed to drive on them at a low speed. This causes delays in both passenger and freight transport. The backlog should be cleared by 2027.

Furthermore, Gilkinet promises the arrival of a catalog of train paths for rail freight companies, a listing of all possible times when freight trains can use certain stretches of track. That is not there now and that makes planning a freight train unnecessarily complex and slow.

Longer trains

The large freight shunting yard in the port of Antwerp will also be opened to all freight carriers. Gilkinet: 'There must be independent management so that foreign companies such as DB Cargo and SNCF Fret can also use it.'

 

The marshalling yard in the port of Antwerp must be managed independently, so that foreign companies can also use it.

 

GEORGES GILKINET

FEDERAL MINISTER OF MOBILITY (ECOLO)

In addition, interventions will be made at the loading and unloading quays and shunting yards so that freight trains with a maximum length of 740 meters can drive, load and unload by 2030. That is 90 meters longer than the current maximum length and considerably more energy efficient per tonne transported.

By the time Belgium has the rotating presidency of the European Union in 2024, Gilkinet wants to get rid of some measures that make international rail freight more difficult, such as the lack of a single language for European freight rail. Now drivers still have to master the language of all countries in which they drive.

Gilkinet's plans are in line with the ambitions of many business organizations such as the VBO and Voka, but also the port of Antwerp and the rail freight operator Lineas. Last year they drew up a roadmap to achieve a doubling of the share of freight on the railways .

 

The majority of the 27 action points to make freight rail more attractive is based on the new management agreement for the rail network operator Infrabel. This must soon be definitively approved and must provide 300 million euros of extra investment money per year up to and including 2033, 3 billion euros in total.

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