Dutch rail freight drops for second year in a row

The volume of rail freight in the Netherlands has dropped by seven per cent in 2024, amounting to 39,7 million tonnes. It is the second consecutive year that the number shows a decline, after it dropped by 10 per cent in 2023. The drop is almost entirely due to a lower amount of coal imports in Germany, as the country switches to more sustainable forms of energy.

Coal transportation dropped by 37 per cent, from 8 million tonnes in 2024 to 5 million tonnes in 2023. Dutch infrastructure manager ProRail says that the drop was in line with prior expectations.

ProRail notes that, unlike coal transportation, intermodal transport did not show any major performance shifts. The availability, price and capacity of the various modes of transport to the (European) hinterland play an impo…