The Netherlands and Belgium are taking a major new step towards improving rail freight links between Ghent and Terneuzen. Both countries will continue to explore together how the rail network can be prepared for the future. This should give a boost to rail freight transport.
The Netherlands and Belgium recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding to this end. The Ghent–Terneuzen rail link is one of the rail projects on which both countries agreed in early 2026 to cooperate more closely.
Enhancing rail reliability
With the project agreements set out in the Memorandum and the subsequent decision to launch a (Dutch) MIRT study, ProRail (on the Dutch side) and Infrabel (on the Belgian side) can now get started. They will investigate how the (capacity) bottlenecks on the rail network in North Sea Port can be addressed. The reliability of the rail network must also be improved, so that rail freight transport is, and remains, an attractive alternative for shippers. This will mean fewer lorries on the roads and more goods being transported in a more sustainable manner. North Sea Port is a key link within the European transport network. The port faces a major sustainability challenge, in which the rail network plays a key role by making transport more sustainable and efficient. (....)