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Rotterdam benchmark points to cost pressure
Dutch rail freight operators moving cargo from Rotterdam face higher infrastructure costs than competitors using Antwerp or German routes, according to a benchmark by ProRail and Port of Rotterdam Authority.
The study compared six representative rail freight routes for 2025 and 2026, covering containers, chemicals and ore. It looked at train path charges, stabling costs, traction and energy charges.
Subsidies change the real price
The gross tariffs in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany are broadly close. The real difference comes after subsidies.
Belgium gives rail freight operators €1.20 per train kilometre. Germany compensates 32.5% of train path costs in 2025, rising to 36.8% in 2026. The Netherlands does not subsidise these costs.
That changes the competitive picture. A 1,200 tonne container train from Rotterdam costs €1.55 per kilometre in 2025. A comparable train from Antwerp costs €0.88 per kilometre after subsidy. That makes the Dutch route 76% more expensive.
For a chemical train between Rotterdam and Ludwigshafen, infrastructure costs are about 25% higher than for a comparable Antwerp route. In 2026, the gap rises to almost 28%.
Stabling adds another cost layer
The benchmark also points to stabling charges. In the Netherlands, stabling a freight train costs around €18 per hour. In Belgium, the charge is close to zero.
For operators, this is not a small accounting detail. A freight train is not only moving when it creates cost. It also costs money when it waits, is parked or is prepared for the next leg.
That matters in ports, where rail capacity, terminal timing and hinterland connections rarely line up perfectly. A train that waits for cargo, crew or a path can quickly become less competitive against road transport.
Modal shift under pressure
The benchmark was carried out against a weak volume backdrop. Rail freight volumes to and from Rotterdam fell by about 17% between 2022 and 2025, excluding the expected decline in coal transport.
On shorter distances, the report says cargo is more often shifting to road. On longer distances, Rotterdam rail connections compete with routes through other European ports.
That raises a difficult question for Dutch policymakers. What happens when cargo chooses another port because the first rail kilometre is cheaper elsewhere, but the train still crosses Dutch infrastructure later on?
The benchmark says this can happen. Cargo may shift to ports with lower charges, while trains still use Dutch rail corridors on the way to Germany. In that case, the Netherlands carries part of the infrastructure burden without securing the original port volume.
Rotterdam stakes linked to road pressure
For Rotterdam, the issue is both commercial and operational. Affordable rail freight supports the port’s hinterland position and helps reduce pressure on road transport.
That is becoming more relevant as the Rotterdam region and the wider Dutch road network face major replacement and renovation works. More cargo on trucks would add pressure at a time when road capacity is already under strain.
Rail freight is often described as a tool for modal shift. The benchmark shows that modal shift is not only about available tracks, terminals or locomotives. It is also about the price signal facing the operator.
If a carrier sees a lower net infrastructure cost from Antwerp or through German compensation, the route decision becomes financial before it becomes environmental.
Findings sent to Dutch lawmakers
ProRail and Port of Rotterdam submitted the benchmark to members of the Dutch parliamentary committee for Infrastructure and Water Management ahead of the rail debate scheduled for 3 June.
The study does not say Dutch gross tariffs are out of line by themselves. Its central finding is more specific: national subsidy schemes in Belgium and Germany lower the final bill for operators, while Dutch operators do not receive the same type of support.
For container, chemical and ore flows, that difference is now visible on the corridors that matter most to Rotterdam’s hinterland business.
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