POM Limburg wants to attract companies to canals and rail: “The roads are silting up”

The road network is becoming increasingly congested. During the corona pandemic we decided to do everything differently, but today the Flemish roads are busier than ever, with no prospect of improvement in sight. “With an expected increase in traffic volume of 40 percent by the year 2050, without drastic measures, our road network will simply become congested,” says Johan Boonen, supply chain expert at POM Limburg.

A shift in freight transport to rail and waterways is therefore necessary, and not only because of traffic congestion. For example, the shortage of truck drivers is causing increasing problems in the supply chain. And then there is the impact of truck transport – which for the time being still takes place with diesel trucks – on the climate and the environment. To encourage companies to transport goods by train and ship, POM Limburg is joining forces with Multimodaal.Vlaanderen, the advisory body of the Flemish Innovation Platform for Logistics that facilitates multimodal transport. “The aim of the collaboration is to jointly approach Limburg companies, their potential for one modal shift and help them realize it,” explains Tom Vandeput, deputy for Economic Affairs and chairman of POM Limburg.

Oosterweel

The partnership runs for a period of one year and can be extended. “If during that period we can effectively get three companies to take the step towards sustainable transport by train and ship and convince ten companies to investigate the possibilities of multimodal transport, I think we have done well,” says Johan. Boonen.

This should not involve large flows of goods. Ship and train can also be interesting for one container per month. For Johan Boonen it is important to transport goods with the right means of transport. “Otherwise we will get hopelessly stuck. Take the works on the Oosterweel for example. As part of these works, approximately 11 million tons of sand will have to be removed. It wouldn’t be smart if we did that with the truck, which then makes half of its journeys empty. This can be done much better by ship.”

According to Filip Van Hulle, manager at Multimodaal.Vlaanderen, Limburg is well equipped to make multimodal transport possible for companies. “With the container port of Beringen, Port of Genk and soon Port of Limburg and the container port of Lommel, the province of Limburg has open access terminals all the assets to implement multimodal transport at the majority of its companies, both via rail transport and inland shipping.”

Van Hulle calls on companies to call on experts who are made available. “Limburg companies that, thanks to the collaboration between POM Limburg and Multimodaal.Vlaanderen, want to have their goods flow mapped for free to see whether there is music in a modal shift, should not hesitate to contact us,” concludes Filip Van Hulle.