inland waterways lock reconstruction helps rail grow in the Netherlands

The Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure has decided to reconstruct the Sluis II multimodal complex near Tilburg, Southern Netherlands, and allow larger ships to pass through it. Sluis II is located on the Wilhelmina Canal and is critical for multimodal connectivity in the broader Benelux area. The latest development is also particularly good news for Barge Terminal Tilburg (BTT) engaging in inland waterways-rail transport.

“You have everything in Tilburg to get freight traffic from the road to inland waterways,” said the outgoing Dutch minister of infrastructure and water management, Mark Harbers, to Dutch media. “There are rail connections, there are pipelines. Then, it is important that we can also start using this, not only for Tilburg but for the whole region. We want to submit the project plan this year and then start the tender. I think it’s realistic that we can start working with a contractor in 2025.”

Harbers’ words will be music to the ears of BTT director Wil Versteijnen. BTT is a family business in sustainable container logistics, with its own barge and rail terminals in Tilburg, Eindhoven and Bergen op Zoom. Goods come to Tilburg from all over the world, and from there, they are transported further by water or rail.

The company has one rail and two inland shipping terminals in the vicinity of Tilburg, southern Netherlands. The company operates 14 ships and two locomotives of its own. Versteijnen compared his company’s business to a kitchen while speaking to Dutch media. “The ports are the cooks; we supply and serve. Without us, the kitchen gets stuck. Rotterdam has signed an environmental covenant stating that by 2030, no less than 65 per cent of containers must enter the country by rail or barge, no longer by truck. That’s only about 40 per cent now.”