Ministers have approved a 26 point plan to double the volume of goods transported by rail by 2030. The plan was laid out by Federal Mobility Minister Georges Gilkinet (Ecolo) on Friday.
The Federal Government is seeking to capture the benefits of the recent surge in the value of imports and exports (pushed by the war in Ukraine). Transporting more goods by rail should bring a sizeable economic boost to the country.
The Federal Government's plan will "allow trains to become the backbone of mobility in Belgium," Gilkinet said in a press release.
To that end, investments will have to be made on the rail network's critical points. Part of this work will be to remove all slow-down zones by the end of 2027. The network will also need to be able to accommodate larger trains to boost the competitiveness of their convoys.
Related News
Simultaneously, the government will also take steps on the European level to remove barriers to cross-border transportation. One such barrier is "the lack of a single language for European rail freight," Gilkinet noted.
