Publication of the Annual Report 2015

Our annual report 2015 has been published on our website.

For this occasion, a press release has been issued:

PRESS RELEASE

Good results for the Rail Freight Corridor North Sea – Mediterranean in 2015:

Brussels, 16 June 2016: 2015 has been a year of expansion and visible success for Rail Freight Corridor North Sea –Mediterranean. With already 33 000 trains per year, carrying 38 million ton-kilometres on international connections, RFC North Sea Med is already a strong logistic link between ports and cities of North-western Europe and the south of the Continent.  To sustain the ambitions to grow and make rail a competitive alternative for the transport of goods across Europe, RFC North Sea Med prepares further developments of the offer for the years to come, with good prospects. 

2015 was also a year of success in terms of both traffic and capacity. The number of trains on the corridor rose by 9% and the amount of ton-kilometres transported rose by 13% compared to 2013. The number of train paths offered by the Corridor to railway undertakings for timetable 2016 has also risen. It is 12 % higher than in 2013. The market has appeared to respond positively to the increase of capacity offered as the level of demand for pre-arranged paths in April 2016 was twice as high as in 2014.

In January 2015, the corridor saw its first extension go live, with 1400 kilometres of new lines going to Dunkirk, Calais, Liège (Montzen) and Paris. Moreover, thanks to a new extension of the corridor to London in January 2016, the Management board officially welcomed two new members, Network Rail and Eurotunnel, during a signing ceremony which took place on 20 October 2015.

Finally, the deployment of ERTMS on the main lines of the former Corridor C was completed in Belgium and finalised in Switzerland in 2015. Two and a half years after the operational start of the corridor, the commitment of the corridor’s stakeholders to develop the corridor has started to bear fruit.                                                                                                           

This has been achieved thanks to good cooperation with its customers, the Railway Undertakings and the strong partnership with the terminal owners.

The same gratitude also goes to the European Commission, who again in 2015, has decided to support the corridor financially.

2016 has started with an extension of the corridor in London, Amsterdam, Zeebrugge & Marseille, and a further increase of the capacity offer and of the demand, which suggests promising prospects for the corridor, that now can be considered as a key enabler of international rail freight. The Presidents and Managing Director have commented on the targets achieved:  

Ms Valerie Verzelen, president of the Executive board, declares: “We were pleased to officially welcome the UK within the corridor. We already have welcomed the participation of the UK Ministry of Transport in our Executive Board. With the extensions to London, additionally to Amsterdam, Marseille and Zeebrugge, the corridor reached a new level of operations.”

Ms Ann Billiau, president of the Management board, states:  “We have a full involvement of the 9 infrastructure managers composing the corridor. Achievements such as the full deployment of ERTMS on the corridor in Belgium and its finalisation in Switzerland, as well as a good work on optimisation and construction of international capacity on the corridor, are a proof of this good cooperation.”

Mr Guillaume Confais-Morieux, Managing Director, highlights: “in 2015, the doubling of proposed capacity by the corridor as well as a rise from 3 to 11 client railway undertakings with operations on the corridor shows that we are a strong logistic partner within the European rail freight business. We will do our best to continue to improve our services for the Railway Undertakings using our corridor and help the development of Rail Freight in our lines”

The Rail Freight Corridor North Sea – Mediterranean annual report with full details, facts & figures, can be found using this link to our website: http://www.rfc-northsea-med.eu/en/page/publications

About the Corridor North Sea – Mediterranean:

Rail Freight Corridor North Sea – Mediterranean (RFC North Sea – Med) is a freight-oriented route connecting the Netherlands, Belgium, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, the United Kingdom, France and Switzerland. It links main European terminals & ports (Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Antwerp, Zeebrugge, Calais, Dunkirk, UK terminals, and Marseille) to the industrial zones of Western Europe and to the gateways of Southern Europe, with 5300 kilometres of lines.

The corridor is also a gateway to the rest of Europe, being connected to the RFCs Rhine – Alpine, Atlantic, Mediterranean and North Sea – Baltic and building together with all corridors a European network of rail freight corridors.

 

Contact:

-          Website: http://www.rfc-northsea-med.eu

-          Managing Director: Guillaume CONFAIS-MORIEUX : guillaume.confaismorieux@rfc2.eu

-          Finance & Communication Manager: Matthieu MAESELLE: matthieu.maeselle@rfc2.eu