EU to support rail freight traffic improvements to the Port of Rotterdam

The EU's TEN-T Programme will back with over €5.5 million studies on solving the main railway bottlenecks near the Port of Rotterdam in The Netherlands. The study results will help improve rail freight transport access to the port, the works are expected to start in 2016.

The capacity of the Caland Bridge connecting the Port of Rotterdam to the main European rail network needs a boost to cope with the increasing freight transport demand. It is currently considered to be the main bottleneck on the Dutch part of the rail freight corridors connecting Rotterdam to Germany, Poland, the Scandinavian countries and southern Europe.

This project will carry out the studies (route selection, Environmental Impact Assessment and draft route decision) looking at relieving the traffic to and from the port. As a result, the port's western part will be able to receive more freight and meet increasing demand in the medium and longer term.

The project's outcomes will then help decision makers to prepare the construction works planned to start in 2016. The project was selected for EU funding with the assistance of external experts under the TEN-T Multi-Annual Call 2013, priority projects. Its implementation will be monitored by INEA, the European Commission's Innovation and Networks Executive Agency. The project is to be completed by December 2015.