80 weeks of paused operations is a lot, but the Dutch had to adapt. The work started in late 2024.

Since then, there have been diversions along other routes and a reduction in capacity. The Netherlands has had to run many thousands of trains less than previously. Naturally, last year’s announcement by Germany that the Third Track connection wouldn’t be completed in the coming decade came as a major disappointment and setback.

German unclarity hinders Dutch infrastructure planning

Germany does not have the capacity to work on the Third Track project. The country is working on a major overhaul of its entire rail network. Other projects are higher on the priority list.

RailFreight.com’s sister publication SpoorPro reported that the Dutch infrastructure manager ProRail still has no plan on how to cope with this situation. “It is still too early to say exactly what impact the works in Germany will have”, spokesperson Marcella Wesseling told SpoorPro. “Whether additional freight trains will be diverted depends on the nature, scale and schedule of the works in Germany. The German side has not yet provided this overview.”

Clearly, coordination between the Dutch and German infrastructure managers is lacking. This puts rail work in the Netherlands in question. ProRail and DB InfraGO had earlier agreed on a timeline that would allow the Dutch to work on ERTMS implementation and renovations in Eindhoven and Venlo.

Political games?

The head of the Dutch rail freight association, Hans-Willem Vroon, told SpoorPro about his suspicions that there are some political games going on. “Perhaps Germany is also sending a signal to The Hague that it believes the Venlo-Kaldenkirchen and Oldenzaal-Bad Bentheim border crossings should be used more frequently.” These are alternative border crossings that could facilitate diversions from the Third Track works.

“Moreover, I suspect that DB InfraGO is deliberately holding back the growth of rail traffic because their rail network simply cannot cope. It is striking, after all, that in Switzerland the complaints about the German feeder and outbound lines are even greater than here, and Switzerland does operate with multiple border crossings.” These include Basel, Schaffhausen and St. Margarethen.

Only necessary reroutings

“ProRail is taking into account an 80-weeks ‘Temporary Capacity Restriction’ (TCR), with alternating single-track availability and total closure for international train traffic, for the construction of a third track between Emmerich and Oberhausen by DB Netz from the beginning of November 2024 to the end of May 2026”, the Dutch infrastructure manager writes in its Capacity Strategy for timetable 2025.

“During the 80-weeks TCR, ProRail will only plan works on the deviation routes that are reasonably necessary during that period or that do not cause extra impact”, it writes. “ProRail will reschedule as much work as possible to the periods before and after the 80-weeks TCR.

Other promises

It also promises that capacity restrictions will have a maximum duration of one weekend on the deviation routes from Kijfhoek to Venlo, from Kijfhoek to Bad Bentheim and several other routes within the network. It also committed to publishing an adapted version of the Corridor Book for the period of November 2024 to May 2026.

This text was written at the end of June this year, when the capacity strategy was published. “The basic principle is that, given the construction needs of DB Netz and the necessary projects by ProRail, as much traffic as possible will be facilitated. This is expected to be less than under ‘normal’ circumstances”, it concludes.

75 freight trains a day

According to Hans-Willem Vroon, director of industry association RailGood, ​​there will be a 20 weeks of total closure, which will “put 75 freight trains a day at risk of being unable to run between November 2024 and May 2026”. He is surprised about the fact that a strategy is currently being formed to accommodate the passengers affected, but not the freight trains.

It must also be noted that although the infrastructure managers have promised to take into account construction periods on each side of the border by for example not carrying out maintenance activities during periods that trains are being redirected, the recent past has shown that this is not always the case. This is because construction and maintenance works do not always meet the deadline. In this way, line closures may overlap.

Starting this Friday 15 April, construction work will take place on various sections of the route between Basel and Rastatt, resulting in single-track and at times total closures as well. This will last until 25 April. “According to DB Netze, regular traffic will need to be thinned out, and there is likely no train path available for short-term traffic.

Third Track works

The construction works coincide with the works on the Emmerich – Oberhausen section, or the Third track. Train traffic between the Netherlands and Germany partly uses other border crossings. This work will run until 22 Friday and results in a total closure of the track section, alternating with single-track train traffic.

Due to this timing, the construction works are expected to have a large impact on rail freight traffic on the Rhine-Alpine corridor. Hupac said that it expects a cancellation rate of 30 per cent of its traffic, while it is able to reroute 70 per cent of its traffic. In other media, DB Cargo is reported speaking of 280 cancellations, while detouring a quarter of its planned departures.

“We ask you to take the infrastructure restrictions into account when planning and coordinating your flexible transport and to inform us in good time about canceled trains so that the available capacities can be used optimally”, DB Netze says.

Repetition of the same?

In the last few months of last year, a similar situation took place. Construction works took place in the Rhine Valley, coincided with construction works on the Third Track and led to several weeks of limited capacity. The impact on the industry was felt well into the new year.

The impact is large because the route is the most-heavily consumed in Europe. The Rhine Alpine corridor connects the sea ports of Western Europe with Switzerland and Italy, and Germany covers a large part of it. Any temporary or partial closure will inevitably impact international rail freight traffic.

But this is not enough as an explanation. The need for sufficient alternatives have been pointed out many times and by many different players. Trains can be rerouted, but the alternatives do not provide the capacity required. There are freight limitations on the route through France, and there is a lack of train drivers familiar with the route. This became painfully evident during the Rastatt incident in 2017, and still does not seem to have been resolved.

No better timing

According to Phillip Hanze from the Rhine-Alpine corridor there is no right timing of construction work. “This could not have been done at a better time, as there will be construction works between Germany and Belgium next month. In the next two years, a lot of construction works will take place on the German network, and this just needs to be done.”

However, there are talks being held between the German and French infrastructure managers to increase the availability of the alternative route through France. “In 2024, there will be a long-time closure of the railway line in Rastatt, and this will have a big impact. There are working groups in place discussing the diversion routes, and this should result in an improved route through France”, Hanze explains.

Importance of the work

Apart from the works on the Rhine Valley, the works on the Third Track will continue to have an impact. A planning document shared by DB Cargo the Netherlands shows that the period of March-April has a high density of works, but more is to come in June and August.

The Third Track is an additional border crossing extending the freight dedicated Betuweroute from the Netherlands into Germany. “The number of trains using the Betuweroute has grown in recent years and is expected to increase further. For example through the new terminals on Maasvlakte 2. In order to manage the expected increase in the right direction, more capacity is needed at the border in Zevenaar and in Germany. The construction of the third track will enable carriers to deploy more freight trains in the future on the European freight transport corridors, such as between Rotterdam and Genoa”, the operator explained.

Reduced performance quality

This being said, European operators often explain that construction works are very little coordinated with neighbouring infrastructure managers. Works are regularly planned in Germany at the same time as major line closures in the Netherlands, for example. This leads to an increasing frustration throughout the sector. “We do understand that construction works need to be carried out, but our customer do not. More and more cargo is shifted to the roads”, commented Mark Jansen from Hupac.

During the capacity crunch in December, Jan Weiser from Kombiverkehr explained: “There are also restrictions and bottlenecks in train drivers, locomotives and wagons, partly due to corona, which leads to severe train delays and an overall situation that is still very difficult to plan. The railway undertakings see the increased construction activities in the German and European rail network as a major cause for the current performance quality.”

Kijfhoek

By applying additional shunting operations at Kijfhoek, DB Cargo has been able to prevent delays in the single wagonload network so far. It is however not the first setback at the emplacement yard this month. From 6 till 8 April, operations of rail freight traffic came to a halt as ProRail closed two switches. The safety certificate of these switches was no longer valid.

The three-day restrictions at Kijfhoek followed shortly after a malfunction of the hill braking system, so that the system could not be used for more than a week. “Very frustrating at a time when there is a great demand for wagon-load trains”, said Jelle Rebbers, spokesman for DB Cargo at that time.

Much to be desired

“Due to the corona crisis, we see customers that we had lost over time come back to rail. In such a time, it is very frustrating that we have to report malfunctioning emplacement yard. With such news, you confirm the reason why they turned away from rail at the time. The reliability of rail leaves much to be desired.”

ProRail responded in sister publication Spoorpro saying that it understands the frustration of carriers, but it also emphasised that it was purely an availability problem. “Due to a change of contractors at Kijfhoek, something went wrong with the extension of the safety certificates of the switches at Kijfhoek. They should have resolved that among themselves, but it is our responsibility to make sure this happens. It is very frustrating that this went wrong. ”

Absolute mess

The restrictions at Kijfhoek are a continuation of a series of restrictions for rail freight traffic in the Rijnmond region, in the South of the Netherlands. For example, the problems with the extinguishing facilities at the Waalhaven yard are now a long-term file that can be closed in 2021 at the earliest. The problems with drifting sand on the Maasvlakte also recur regularly. Market parties have called railways around the port of Rotterdam an absolute mess at the moment, but this is an image ProRail disagrees with.

“The situation may not be optimal compared to the main track in the rest of the Netherlands, but it is certainly not a mess. Things go wrong everywhere, especially when so many organisations, people and technologies are involved. The hill system at Kijfhoek is very old, so sometimes it breaks down. We are working hard to renew the system, but things could still go wrong after that. The issue with the extinguishing system at Waalhaven are being worked on with great effort to find a solution.