Companies are now working to clear their backlogs. The success of that depends on border crossing capacity and coordination between the German and Dutch infrastructure managers, operational director of HUPAC Mark Jansen says.

The past two days

Whereas on 6 January some train traffic was possible in the Rotterdam port area, by the next day, all freight trains had halted operations, infrastructure manager ProRail reported. The problems have to do with mass failures of switches. They froze or the large amounts of snow got them stuck in one position.

The winter problems were concentrated around the Botlek and Waalhaven ports, as well as rail yard Kijfhoek. The important hinterland Betuwe line to Germany was also limited to a single track for some time.

Single wagonload operations allow companies that do not export enough goods to form a block train to transport their goods by rail. Single wagons, or a small number of wagons, from various companies are combined into trains at shunting yards, from where they depart to the train’s destination.

This type of rail freight operation requires a lot of movements, which leads to high costs and makes it very challenging to run a profit on it.

Rail freight transported 39,3 million tonnes of goods in the Netherlands in 2023, which is around 2% of the total volume of transported goods in the country via all modes of transportation: rail, road, waterways, air and pipelines, according to infrastructure manager ProRail. (Rail freight has a modal share of around 5% to 6% in tonne-kilometres, according to Netherlands Institute for Transport Policy Analysis.) Some 15% of the rail volume is moved through SWL operations: approximately 6 million tonnes. That would make for around 0,3% of the total volume of goods transported in the Netherlands in 2023.

In other words, single wagonload only accounts for a tiny fraction of total freight transportation in the country. Despite that, the infrastructure ministry recently announced a 30 million euro investment in shunting operations at the Kijfhoek rail yard, close to Rotterdam.

The investment should help suppress costs, lead to reliable and more sustainable freight flows and support ports and industries. In a policy plan, the Netherlands explains that it wants to change the operating model with a neutral service offering at the Kijfhoek rail yard. That means that infrastructure manager ProRail will take over shunting locomotives from DB Cargo, which is currently the only operator that has them.

The neutral service offering will then periodically be put to the market. That should also improve the accessibility of shunting at Kijfhoek for other companies that offer SWL services, say the Netherlands.

Are the Dutch not reading the room?

The move to support SWL operations at Kijfhoek could be seen as somewhat remarkable. In Germany and Switzerland, recent developments have suggested a move away from SWL because it is not financially viable. As part of its restructuring process, DB Cargo floated the idea of quitting single wagonload altogether. The Swiss SBB Cargo is planning to close three SWL terminals.

Dutch rail freight association RailGood has been opposed to the investment, saying that it primarily allows large companies with foreign shareholders to profit from lower fees and that it is a “waste of taxpayer money”. Why, then, would the Dutch government commit to a multimillion investment in SWL?

The answer is found in a report by infrastructure manager ProRail. It points out that single wagonload operations are crucial for a number of economic sectors, like the steel, chemical and paper industries. It is no wonder that shippers’ association evofenedex has been supportive of the 30 million investment.

A necessity for some industries

The products of the steel, chemical and paper companies are often unsuitable for container-based transport, and cannot move via the road for various reasons. “In particular for long-distance transport, the railways are a secure mode of transportation”, says ProRail. “In some countries, particular groups of chemicals can only be transported by train.”

The availability of SWL services should also improve the business climate in the area of the Port of Rotterdam. “For the abovementioned reasons, SWL has a high (potential) economic value for the Netherlands and can play a role in making both existing and transport flows more sustainable […]”, says ProRail.

In 2022, 130 companies moved their goods by single wagonload transport in the Netherlands. The vast majority of those are in the steel and chemical industries, which add 24 billion and 55 billion euros to the Dutch economy. The SWL investment comes at a moment when eight chemical companies have already left the country in 2025 due to the high costs.

Beyond the Netherlands

The Kijfhoek rail yard offers connections to various industrial zones across the Netherlands, but also to European destinations. Freight flows to and from Germany dominate here (80% of the total international traffic), with around 100,000 wagons being exchanged annually with the Netherlands’ eastern neighbour. Kijfhoek sorts around 175,000 wagons yearly.

Other European countries have seen their single wagonload operations decline, says ProRail, and are therefore resorting to active support measures. France currently has a 450 million euro scheme for first and last-mile operations, and Germany spends 300 million euros in subsidies for SWL. In 2023, Belgium invested 15 million euros as a stimulus package for the Antwerp Noord rail yard.

It seems that the Netherlands has chosen to support SWL, in order to not fall behind European competitors in attracting (rail) freight and to support the modal shift. Despite that, ProRail foresees no spectacular SWL growth in the coming decades. In a best case scenario, with a level playing field between rail and other modes of transport, the Digital Automatic Coupler and Automated Train Operations implemented, a neutral service offering at Kijfhoek and Industrial growth, the maximum SWL volume in 2050 is 9 million tonnes (+50% compared to 2024).

In a worst case scenario, where none of those positive factors come true and the road sector manages to become more sustainable, SWL volumes could be as low as 2,8 million tonnes in 2050.

“Kijfhoek plays a crucial role in the distribution of goods from the ports to industrial zones in the Netherlands and Europe”, Aartsen stated. “With this impulse, we’re making rail freight safer, more efficient and more attractive for companies.”

evofenedex says that SWL is important for Dutch shippers, but that it is under pressure and that there are concerns for its future. “Single wagonload traffic was in danger of disappearing from the Netherlands”, the association says.

Neutral shunting offering

For that reason, evofedenex has been lobbying for investments in SWL. The current investment will prevent a decline in the supply of rail transport services and a reverse modal shift, it says.

Among the plans for Kijfhoek is a neutral shunting offering, which is now in the hands of DB Cargo. Broader accessibility to shunting services should make SWL available to various operators, which will give shippers more options to use rail freight, says evofenedex.

“This decision is good news for shippers that transport smaller volumes via rail”, commented evofenedex policy advisor Geert van Eijk. “With the investment in Kijfhoek, it will remain possible to flexibly and sustainably use the railways, without freight flows being forced onto the road.”

“Kijfhoek plays a crucial role in the distribution of goods from the ports to industrial zones in the Netherlands and Europe”, Aartsen stated. “With this impulse, we’re making rail freight safer, more efficient and more attractive for companies.”

The 30 million euros are drawn from a 79 million euro fund to improve freight transportation in the Netherlands by inducing a modal shift from the road to inland waterways and the railways. In other words, the ministry has decided to use nearly 40% of those funds to help SWL.

Taking traction away from DB Cargo

In the Dutch policy plan “Vision of the Future for Rail Freight 2050”, the government also highlights that the current format of the gravity shunting yard, in which DB Cargo provides locomotive traction, no longer matches the size and projected size of SWL traffic. It wants to change the operating model with a neutral service offering at the site. That means that infrastructure manager ProRail will take over DB Cargo’s shunting locomotives and that the service offering will periodically be put to the market. That should also improve the accessibility of shunting at Kijfhoek for other companies that offer SWL services.

The investment in SWL could be seen as a remarkable decision. Whereas European leaders in SWL traffic Germany and Switzerland seem to be killing it off, the Netherlands is going the other way by giving it a helping hand. The Dutch rail freight association RailGood has responded negatively to the 30 million euro investment, and points to the situation in Germany.

The investment hurts intermodal and block trains

“A waste of Dutch tax payer money”, director Hans-Willem Vroon says on LinkedIn. “Wrong political choice. […] First, the German government injects billions of euros into its own loss-making state company for many years. Then, the European Commission puts an end to it towards 2029, which has hindered a healthy functioning of the market on the railways for years.”

The bottom line, according to RailGood, is that only a few large industries with foreign shareholders will be able to enjoy subsidised transport for a couple of years more. “The continuation of single wagonload transport with state support is unhealthy, not goal-oriented and keeps volumes away from transporters of intermodal and block trains.”

The rail yard improvement includes the implementation of the “Trackguard Cargo MSR32” system. It “delivers comprehensive yard automation, featuring advanced route and speed control units, retarders, and propelling systems, alongside radio-based integration for precise humping locomotive control”, explains Siemens Mobility.

As a result, the system optimises operations across the board at Kijfhoek, starting at train arrival to departures. Kijfhoek is an important component of the Dutch rail network. It is located just outside of Europe’s biggest port, Rotterdam. It also features strong connectivity to European inland destinations. In terms of infrastructure, Kijfhoek boasts 14 arrival tracks, 41 classification tracks and 12 stabling tracks.

Kijfhoek

The rail freight yard of Kijfhoek has a key function in connecting the rail network at the Port of Rotterdam with the rest of the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany. It is the largest emplacement yard of the Netherlands with a unique shunting system called hilling, referring to the hills that allow freight trains to be assembled according to their destination.

Rail capacity was transferred to DB Cargo

On 27 November 2020, ProRail decided to transfer rail capacity from Lineas to DB Cargo, due to a malfunction at Kijfhoek that halved the hilling capacity (hilling is the process used at Kijkhijk for shunting). According to Lineas, the reduced hilling capacity did not result in congestion problems or delays on the Dutch rail network. Nevertheless, ProRail decided to redistribute the capacity, without conducting its own research or consulting foreign rail managers such as DB Netz about the alleged congestion.

According to ACM, ProRail transferred the capacity allocated to Lineas to DB Cargo without a thorough investigation and apparently fully relying verbal communication from DB Cargo. According to Lineas, the problem was not urgent enough to justify a redistribution of capacity on 27 November 2020. According to the market authority, this disadvantaged Lineas in its performance of rail transport.

ACM is of the opinion that ProRail has not been transparent about the procedure to withdraw ad hoc capacity. In addition, the market authority has established that ProRail acted in violation of the Network Statement 2020 by taking the decision to temporarily withdraw Lineas’ capacity at Kijfhoek, without asking Lineas for approval, or giving it the opportunity to start a dispute procedure.

Rail capacity request dispute

Lineas also disagrees with the way the 2021 annual timetable for Kijfhoek was made. Due to the expected transport increase in 2021, the rail freight operator requested four instead of three tracks. When it turned out that there were conflicting applications, Lineas indicated that it could use three tracks at Kijfhoek, on the condition that ProRail would allocate all six requested tracks at Maasvlakte West-West. According to Lineas, ProRail has omitted this condition from the coordination report.

ACM finds that ProRail has complied with the obligation to investigate how the various applications could be reconciled. For the conflicting applications at Kijfhoek, ProRail also proposed various alternatives within the port of Rotterdam to applicants and discussed them with them. For alternatives outside the port of Rotterdam, the rail manager could rightly suffice, according to ACM, by stating in the coordination file that applicants do not consider them viable.

According to the market authority, ProRail acted in violation of the non-discrimination principle in the eventual allocation of the capacity on the hill tracks, by testing Lineas’s application against priority criterion 2 of the Network Statement 2021 (is there a connecting train path?), while DB Cargo’s application for those tracks have not been assessed against that criterion.

Lawyer Viola Sütő of LegalRail assisted Lineas in this case. “In capacity allocation you equally weigh the interests of all carriers. Lineas was not allocated the capacity it requested because the prioritisation criterion was applied in a discriminatory manner.”

Capacity allocation Maasvlakte West-West

ACM also ruled in favour of Lineas about the lack of transparency of the capacity allocation procedure for the Maasvlakte West-West yard. The market authority indicates that in the coordination procedure for the capacity allocation, ProRail has fulfilled its obligation to investigate how it can reconcile the various applications by consulting the applicants. However, according to ACM, successful coordination also requires applicants to gain insight into the totality of the applications, without neglecting the importance of business confidentiality of the individual applications.

By not including this overview in the coordination file of the Maasvlakte West-West yard for the 2021 annual timetable, ProRail has fallen short of transparency on this point, according to ACM. In addition, ProRail has not demonstrated whether it has made a proposal to Lineas for (viable) alternatives for its application at the Maasvlakte railway yard.

This article was originally published on our Dutch sister publication Spoorpro.nl.

Shunting and hilling

The Minimum Access Package fee (VMT), which includes access to the railway, the energy supply and other basic matters, will be more than 50 per cent lower in 2023. Passenger carriers such as NS, Arriva and Connexion in particular benefit from this. For rail freight operators, the VMT is also decreasing, but this is offset by an enormous increase in the shunting and ‘hilling’ rates at Kijfhoek. Hilling is a particular shunting technique used at this emplacement yard.

In order to accommodate these carriers, State Secretary for Infrastructure and Water Management Steven van Weyenberg wants to set up a temporary subsidy scheme to compensate for the cost increase. The scheme requires 10 to 14 million euros, an amount that should be financed by an additional levy on all rail carriers.

The envisaged scheme will run for three years and should be phased out gradually over that time. According to ProRail and the ministry, this constitutes a transition to a tariff structure that is more in line with the actual costs of railway usage.

No response passenger carriers

At this stage, the carrier NS says that it does not want to respond substantively to the Network Statement and the State Secretary’s proposal to help pay for the shunting and hilling of freight trains. “It concerns a draft Network Statement that we are discussing with ProRail”, said spokesman Erik Kroeze. “We want to do this carefully and have submitted our questions to ProRail.”

Arriva says it has studied the draft Network Statement 2023. “We also received an explanation from ProRail about the new rates. We then asked questions, which we expect to receive answers to at the beginning of December”, said spokesman Roos Chaudron. Both carriers do not want to make any statements about what they think of the proposal not to disrupt the process with ProRail.

Payment from own pocket

There is less reluctance from the rail freight operators to respond. According to industry organisation RailGood, the subsidy scheme means that carriers will pay from their own pocket. According to RailGood, there is no level playing field with, for example, road transport. “Rail freight transport will have to pay these very hefty parking fees by 2023, but there will be no parking charges for trucks on the parking lots along the highways and provincial roads.”

The fee for the reservation of capacity for shunting and hilling is 0.03384 euros + 0.0003080 euros x track length in meters for all yards with the exception of Kijfhoek. For the Kijfhoek yard, this amounts to 0.03939 euros + 0.0005482 euros x track length in metres. Billing takes place per minute.

Service catalog

In the Netherlands, about fifty parties use the railway network. The Network Statement is ProRail’s catalog of products and services. This contains the offer with the associated rates for, for example, the use of train paths and sidings and shunting, the purchase of traction energy or access to information and ICT services.

The fact that the user fee for one carrier increases and the other decreases has to do with a new method with which ProRail passes on its costs to carriers. At the request of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management, ProRail has brought the direct costs (VMT) more in line with the system in surrounding European countries. The other costs are based on the actual costs and should therefore encourage carriers to use the facilities more efficiently.

This means that the total revenue should amount to 432 million euros, based on the use of the track in 2019. It has been decided to gradually increase the revenue from charging costs to 79 per cent of the total costs until 2025 ( 375 million euros) through an integration scheme consisting of the aforementioned subsidy. Whether ProRail and the ministry are actually allowed to apply this regulation has yet to be assessed by the European Commission. This is because there could be unauthorised state aid.

Alternative sorting process

In order to allow freight trains to depart, an alternative sorting process was set up that enabled to place wagons on the departure tracks. However, this process was very time-consuming and additional railway personnel had to be deployed. This had a negative impact on the punctuality of national and international freight transport.

In May this year and in November last year, the frames of the hill system’s main rail brakes were replaced. In June last year, the supporting structure of the brakes was renewed. “These brakes are used very intensively. That is why they are inspected daily to see if they are still in order”, explains a ProRail spokesperson.

Siemens will modernise the hill system at Kijfhoek in 2023 and 2024. In doing so, both the electronic part and the mechanical components will be renewed.

Strike is due to wage dispute

The strike is the result of a wage dispute, which mainly concerns the timing and size of wage increases. In any case, the new offer from Deutsche Bahn included a corona bonus of 600 euros, something GDL had demanded. But the rest of the offer was insufficient, according to the union.

It is the third round of strikes in a short time that has brought train traffic in Germany to a standstill. “Train traffic to and from Germany is experiencing delays and train cancellations”, reported DB Cargo the Netherlands on Monday morning. Earlier reports were not much different.

Emplacement yard Kijfhoek

Rail freight carriers in the Netherlands have experienced double disturbance, as the main emplacement yard Kijfhoek was not functioning on full capacity last week. There were two cracks in the main rail brakes of the hill system. Due to this, the wagons had to be put in place via an alternative sorting method. This is very time consuming and halves the capacity of the hilling process.

This problem has now been resolved. The repair work on the two main rail brakes was completed last weekend. The automatic sorting process of wagons for the wagon load network was resumed on Sunday, infrastucture manahger ProRail has announced.