Freight trains are an excellent solution for transport over long distances. However, recent years have seen more pressure on the railways, with passenger trains taking precedence over freight trains. The Betuweroute in the Netherlands will change all that, but not everybody is conviced that the expensive showcase will be a good solution. Join for a ride with the test train and judge by yourself.

From 2007 onwards, freight trains will have their own double-track railway line, spanning 160 km between the port of Rotterdam and the German border without stopping. To minimise the Betuweroute’s impact on the landscape, three-quarters of the new line is tightly bundled with the A15 motorway. Built-up areas are avoided as much as possible, and in five tunnels with a total length of 20 kilometres have beenco0nstructed . The track is covered by a 1500 metre long roof in the town of Barendrecht, and 190 wildlife passages have been incorporated into the route.

The betuwelijn is an important part in the connection of Rotterdam to Milano via Ruhr area and Basel. But unfortunately the German part of the route will not be ready / updated before 2013. At this moment the part from Zevenaar to Oberhausen is not connected to the European Train Control System (ETCS), a safety system. Furthermore the corridor in Germany does not have enough capacity to handle the additonal trains. In 2010 the Germans will start to build a third track, so in 2013 the full capacity can be used.

Freight rail transport is also back on the international agenda. Countries such as Austria and Switzerland have invested billions in current railway projects. Closer to home, the connection between the Betuweroute and German tracks will be adapted to the meet the forecast increase in the number of freight trains entering Germany on the new track.

Together with the transport of goods by water and road, the freight train is making modern transport intermodal; carriers can choose the best combination of transport modalities for each load. This could be, for example, a combination of trains for long distances and trucks for regional distribution.

The Betuweroute runs from the port of Rotterdam to the German border. Before leaving the Netherlands at Zevenaar, the Betuweroute has passed various transfer points, shunting yards and feeder lines. The Betuweroute significantly increases the opportunities for transporting containers and bulk goods to the hinterland and vice versa. To cope with the increase, the existing Rail Service Centre on the Maasvlakte and the RSC in the Waalhaven have been extended and adapted. The Rail Service Centre on the Maasvlakte will be the starting point and terminus of the Betuweroute. It includes a yard where freight trains will be lined up and containers will be lifted onto the trains with a crane. The majority of trains departing from this transfer point will be freight shuttles. Of the feeder locations available between Rotterdam and Zevenaar, a choice has been made for Barendrecht, Geldermalsen and Elst. This means that for instance trains from the Amsterdam port area will connect to the Betuweroute via the feeder at Geldermalsen. The shunting yards at Kijfhoek will play a key role in the logistics of the Betuweroute. These shunting yards will be rearranged and adapted to meet the demands of fast, safe and noiseless freight rail transport. Another important logistic junction will be the Central Interchange Point at Valburg. At this transfer point train segments can be decoupled and recombined into trains with different destinations.

Now the Betuweroute will be handed over not before December of 2007, instead of March 2007. Main reason for this delay is that there were no locs available which were compliance to the ETCS-safety standard. At that time the project has costed more then eight times as orginally was projected. And some potential users state that the cost of using the line will not be competative in relation to other modes of transport.

But the Dutch goverment remains confident. Not just the carriers and shipping companies, but also a large part of the Dutch economy will benefit from that time on from the ability to transport goods straight off and without stopping from the Maasvlakte to the German border and further on into Europe. The competitive position of Rotterdam and the Netherlands as a shipping and distribution country will be strengthened in any case.

Sources: eLogistics staff

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