Port of Brussels aims to keep its rail access

Article from www.actu-transport-logistique.fr

(Published on www.actu-transport-logistique.fr in January 2020)

The Port of Brussels has initiated legal proceedings to keep the line connecting it to the Belgian rail network.

Even though its traffic continues to increase (+ 5.2% to 7.284 million tonnes in 2018), the Port of Brussels is facing a problem in terms of its multimodality. Infrabel, the manager of the Belgian rail network, plans to remove by summer 2021 the currently unused line leading to the Port of Brussels. Belonging to the Railway Infrastructure Fund, the land on which the platform is located must be sold.

Fully aware of the environmental issues, the Port of Brussels has therefore initiated summary proceedings against the disappearance of this line giving access to the Belgian rail network. The initiation of this procedure is to be compared with the desire of the Brussels-Capital Region and the Port of Brussels to develop a multimodal logistics center. It will bring together river, rail and road transport in the field that Infrabel wishes to sell.

Explaining this approach, Philippe Mathis, deputy director general of the port of Brussels, underlines “that it is time for us to increase rail transport, which is much more sustainable. There are already concrete projects, a rail link will soon be implemented.

Infrabel specifies, for its part, that it is obliged by a royal decree dating from 2004 to free the land from all railway material. If this is not the case, the manager risks an annual fine of 7 million euros. However, and with regard to the legal proceedings, Infrabel specifies that it will be constructive in the case in order to seek a solution negotiated with all the parties.

In the meantime, the concerned track called 26A will be taken out of service in May 2020. Infrabel has, however, developed other routes to allow freight convoys to still travel until June 2020. So time is running out to find a solution sustainable guaranteeing the maintenance, even the modernization of the rail service.