North Sea Port wins support for Ghent-Terneuzen railway line

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Article published in www.transport-online.nl, 15th June 2020

North Sea Port, the City of Ghent, the municipality of Terneuzen and the provinces of East Flanders and Zeeland were pleased to announce that the parliaments of Belgium and the Netherlands have unanimously expressed their views in order to reach a common vision about the cross-border rail network for goods and people in the Canal zone between Ghent and Terneuzen. In the Rail Ghent Terneuzen project, the five partners jointly investigated what exactly is needed to improve rail in the cross-border port area between Ghent and Terneuzen and to realize social and economic opportunities. The extension of the railway line L204 between Ghent and Zelzate towards the Axelse Vlakte in the Netherlands is on the program. In December 2019, the Dutch House of Representatives unanimously approved a motion to conduct further research to include Rail Gent Terneuzen in MIRT in 2020.

Today, Thursday 11 June 2020, the Federal Parliament in Belgium also unanimously adopted a resolution to work with the Netherlands on a common vision for the cross-border rail network for goods and people in the Canal Zone between Ghent and Terneuzen. And there is more. The Belgian resolution also asks to start immediately with the implementation of what had already been decided for the L204 railway line: the elimination of level crossings on the railway line and the start of potential and feasibility studies for passenger transport.

The extension of line 204 to Terneuzen will make a necessary improvement in rail freight and passenger transport. The Axelse Vlakte - the large industrial estate in the Netherlands near the border under development - can be connected directly to the railway. The railway connects to the Scheldt-Seine connection from Terneuzen, Ghent to Paris. The further development of this north-south connection by water and the expansion of the railway network allow North Sea Port to focus even more on sustainable connections with the hinterland.