ROTTERDAM: The Port of Rotterdam is aiming to expand its reach into the central European hinterland via containerized rail by requiring new terminals to make use of its expanded on-dock rail facilities and marketing its direct rail line to Germany. There’s plenty of containerized rail, or intermodal rail, growth to be had, as only 11 percent of the 12 million 20-foot equivalent units handled by Europe’s busiest container port moved by rail. Unlike in the United States, European shippers are reluctant to move their goods via rail, opting for barge or road transport, largely because containerized rail transport is often delayed between countries due to switching of trains and crews.
“If a train crosses a border you have to change the locomotive because it’s country specific. You have to change the driver because he has to speak the language of the country he’s entering,” explained Peter ten Broek, Rotterdam’s business manager of logistics for containers and breakbulk. Reaching new markets is key for Rotterdam to keep its ranking as the top European container gateway. Volume through the port fell 2.3 percent year-over-year in the first half, to 6.1 million TEUs, extending a 0.5 percent dip in 2015 that took its annual traffic to 12.2 million TEUs. Increased rail transport will also help the port avoid congestion flare-ups caused by the massive cargo discharges of mega-ships.
In an effort to overcome shipper resistance to rail transport, Rotterdam is requiring all new terminals opening at its Maasvlakte II site to agree to move half of their cargo via containerized rail, a steep demand considering that at best 35 percent the complex’s cargo is moving via train. Three terminals operate within Maasvlakte and there are 325 hectares (803 acres) left for development.
“The new terminals over at the Maasvlakte, they sign a contract that maximum 35 percent is going by truck,” explained Rob Bagchus, chief of public affairs at ECT. Despite Rotterdam’s 250 weekly rail connections, some 53 percent of cargo moves via truck and another 36 percent by barge. But to be competitive in grabbing cargo headed to eastern Europe and southern Germany, goods moving through Rotterdam need to go on rail. Antwerp and Hamburg are also vying for those markets, and the port of Piraeus, Greece, is also competitive as it can reach eastern Europe via its rail connections.
