Port of Antwerp announced that from January 1, 2024, train traffic in the port area will be organised differently.

For Single Wagon Load, there will be a new operational model that is neutral and usable by all interested parties.

In order to bundle this traffic, it said that Railport launched a tendering process — the first result of the rail vision for the port and should lead to a more efficient and better offering.

"Efficiently organising what is known as the first-mile and last-mile traffic in the port area is a very difficult exercise. First of all, rail traffic is expected to grow. In addition, there are many different rail operators, each with its own operational model," the port said in its announcement.

It added that there is also currently no collaboration between these companies.

"All that rail traffic has to go over the limited available rail infrastructure with some bottlenecks, such as the bridges over the locks," it said, adding that the deliveries of railcars are many and fragmented — thus, dramatically increasing costs and have a negative impact on the environment.

Port of Antwerp said significant efficiency and sustainability gains could be achieved by better coordinating railcar deliveries and collections and by bundling the delivery and collection within the port area.

As such, longer trains can be used instead of many short trains.

"Although this was not an easy exercise, we are extremely happy with the result, and with the huge support and backing from the industry and freight payers ... the project shows that together we can effectively change things by joining forces," said Nils van Vliet, CEO of Railport.

He added that the project does not stop here, and Railport will continue to monitor quality, organise area meetings to increase efficiency and take the necessary initiatives to accelerate the digitalisation exercise that has already started. 

In order to achieve this, Railport has divided the port into zones based on consolidated volumes and operational optimisation.

On that basis, Railport has organised a tender for the first and last mile in each zone.

It received a mandate for this from freight payers in these zones.

"In doing so, Railport is aiming to make first-mile and last-mile traffic more accessible to both rail operators and freight payers. The model counters fragmentation and increases transparency as to their own goods," Port of Antwerp said.

The results of the tendering can be accessed here. 

Port of Antwerp said the participating freight payers can now enter into a first and last-mile agreement with the selected railway operators.

"The selected operators will offer their services in a neutral manner to all interested parties. This means that even freight payers who had not (yet) submitted their volume in the tendering process can still join the project and make use of the services offered," it added.

Port of Antwerp noted that this regulation will take effect on January 1, 2024.