In Belgium, almost 75% of goods are transported by road. At the end of 2019, a cooperation agreement was signed between Infrabel, Port of Antwerp and Railport (a Port of Antwerp subsidiary), confirming the three Belgian companies’ ambition to buck this trend in favour of a more sustainable mode of transport.

Today, they have decided to take action. On 31 March, the companies revealed a collective and ambitious plan of action with the objective of increasing the proportion of goods transported by rail from 7% to 15% by 2030.

The “Let’s modal shift together!” plan aims to involve the entire logistics chain and is based on several pillars. These range from better management of traffic flows, neutral management of marshalling installations, effective use of rail infrastructure, targeted investments in port areas with high growth potential and an efficient parking policy to a dedicated regulatory framework for the port and the development of an IT platform for rail transport in the port.

With a 50% share of Belgian freight, the port of Antwerp is a strategic gateway in stimulating modal shift in other logistics hubs and industrial sites. Infrabel is currently working with other partners to develop a global plan to double the share of rail freight throughout Belgium.

(Source: Infrabel)