After years of political back and forth, the Wilhelmina canal in Tilburg, southern Netherlands, is getting an upgrade. It will allow bigger ships further down the waterway, which terminal operator BTT Multimodal Container Solutions (BTT) has desired for a long time. Even though it concerns a waterway upgrade, rail stands to gain as well.
The Wilhelmina canal upgrade, which is due for completion in 2029, would allow class IV barges to sail further into Tilburg. From the perspective of the inland shipping sector, that would be a win: class IV ships are increasingly common in the Netherlands.
However, wider access for class IV barges could also be a plus for rail. RailFreight.com reached out to BTT, which has a trimodal (including rail) terminal in the city. It has insisted on the canal project for many years.
From 24 TEU to 60 TEU
Barge freight is now unloaded at a BTT location in Tilburg, called Vossenberg, where the company does not put together trains, explains Jordy Versteijen of BTT. That location is already operating at full capacity. If freight is destined for hinterland destinations via rail, BTT needs to haul the freight by truck to another location in Tilburg, industrial site Loven, where it can be transshipped to rail.
Even though it is technically possible to reach the other location via ship, capacity is limited due to the size of the canal. That makes it financially unattractive. “Once class IV ships get access further into the canal, we can transport 60 TEU per ship rather than the current maximum of 24 TEU”, Versteijnen explains. That would be a financial game changer.
Further growth from 2029
A removal of the need for the road leg makes operations more efficient and cheaper. It would also increase capacity: Vossenberg cannot handle more freight currently. With more capacity and higher efficiency, BTT expects volumes, also for rail, to grow from 2029 onwards.
Trains depart to a variety of locations from BTT facilities in Tilburg. For one, there is a daily connection to Rotterdam. In normal circumstances, the terminal had three China – Europe trains coming in on a weekly basis, but due to the war in Ukraine, that is not the case now. There is also a connection to BTT’s Polish terminal in Rzepin five times a week, and a circular trip between Tilburg, Vlissingen and Osnabrück for photographic paper production.