After two years of decline, rail freight in Belgium has posted growing figures for 2024. This signal, paired with the improving financial situation for the country’s largest operator Lineas, seems to paint a positive picture for the Belgian industry.
Between 2021 and 2023, freight trains in Belgium lost 15 per cent of their volumes, from 63 to 53,5 million tonnes. On the other hand, 2024 brought a resurgence in both the rail freight and inland shipping sectors, as mentioned by our sister publication Flows.
The resurgence of Lineas
The return to 2021 rail freight volumes in Belgium is echoed by the renaissance of Lineas, the largest private operator in the country (and in Europe). The company underwent a massive restructuring in 2022 to get out of financial troubles, starting with a new CEO in Bernard Gustin.
Since then, Lineas reduced its losses by 83 per cent and aims to break even in 2025. The company is now mostly focussing on traction services rather than intermodal services, which it now carries out in cooperation with other players such as Hupac.
Another initiative that helped Lineas and rail freight in Belgium get out of muddy waters has been the new model for the shunting yard in Antwerp-North. Instead of having each company deploy their personnel for operations, different users of the yard can utilise other companies’ services, providing comprehensive packages for railway undertakings.
A needle in the haystack?
The positive situation in Belgium seems to be a unicum in Europe. Rail freight has been losing grounds in various EU member states, including Italy, Spain and the Netherlands. Germany, France, Romania and Poland are dealing with vast restructuring of their state-owned operators and the consequent impact of such initiatives. Belgium has also faced uncertainty and a weakening of the sector over the past few years, but it seems that the trend is now being reversed.