Lineas launches intermodal freight service from Moerdijk to Antwerp

Credit: Lineas

Lineas, the largest private rail freight operator in Europe, has launched a new regular service for intermodal loads between the Port of Moerdijk in the Netherlands and Antwerp in Belgium. The freight train runs three times per week and increases the frequency of transport between Rotterdam and Antwerp to eight round trips per week. 

The new Xpress service enables transporters and shippers to move intermodal volumes three times per week between the Port of Moerdijk and Lineas’ Main Hub in Antwerp. The line has a total transport capacity of 270 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) per week. Through the Antwerp Hub, cargo can ship by rail throughout Europe via Lineas’ leading Green Xpress Network.

The Port of Moerdijk handles around 2,000 ocean-going and 11,500 inland waterway vessels per year. The port manages its business and the supporting infrastructure with clear ecological targets in mind. It thereby enables sustainable development in and around the port area, and reduces the port’s environmental impact as a whole. Supported by Lineas, the Port of Moerdijk further improves its green ambitions by choosing, as part of its multimodal offering, to transport large volumes of goods to the hinterland and between ports by rail.

Jayand Baladien, Commercial Director at the Port of Moerdijk, said: “The Port of Moerdijk is committed to making the port more sustainable. Logistically, we focus with our customers on promoting the modal shift and expanding the short sea network. We are pleased with the Moerdijk-Antwerp rail link and its connections to the rest of Europe via Lineas’s Green Xpress Network. This way, we contribute to strengthening the strategic, multimodal hub in Moerdijk, and we hold true to our strategy to make connections in Europe more sustainable.”

Olivier Deprez, Director of Network Management and Alliances at Lineas, explains the value of the new rail destination: “Moerdijk is an important logistical centre for Europe. We are proud to support their growing business needs and contribute to their ecological targets with our leading rail freight services. The connection fits our ambition to connect all of Europe’s Western Ports with our growing international network to meet our customers’ needs. We already serve Rotterdam, Antwerp, Ghent, Zeebrugge and Le Havre, and I’m pleased that we can now include the Port of Moerdijk as of today.”

The new connection not only reinforces the company’s port connectivity network, but also intensifies its rail services between Rotterdam and Antwerp. In collaboration with the intermodal operator Shuttlewise, the three new round trips between Lineas’ Main Hub in Antwerp and CTT Pernis in Rotterdam, via Moerdijk, add a total of 540 TEU capacity per week. Half (270 TEU) between Antwerp and Moerdijk, and the other half between Antwerp and Rotterdam.

Olivier added: “Europe’s Western ports are major hubs for global freight. The demand for a partner that transports different types of goods flexibly and reliably, while simultaneously contributing to the environment, leads more and more ports to rail. Thanks to Lineas’ extensive network, including the Green Xpress Network which serves most of Europe, we are proud to announce the increased number of round trips on this segment of our network.”