North Sea-Baltic corridor extended with new hubs
The North Sea-Baltic rail freight corridor is going through a new period of extension as three transport hubs in the Benelux and Poland have been added to the artery. This will contribute to improving connectivity between Eastern and Western European countries as well as between different corridors.
Starting from 10 January, the North Sea-Baltic (NS-B) rail freight corridor has been functioning in an extended edition. This is a result of two add-ons that were added to the transport artery. On its western end, the NS-B corridor was extended to the Port of Zeebrugge and the North Sea Port (to both areas in Ghent, Belgium, and Terneuzen, the Netherlands). On the opposite terminus, in Poland, Medyka, which is an important railway junction on the border with Ukraine, was included in the corridor.
“These extensions will provide direct access to the ports of Ghent, Terneuzen and Zeebrugge; bring new business opportunities to RFC NS-B; improve the land bridge between Europe and Asia in the context of growing traffic between East and West; ensure a better interconnection between Eastern and Western European countries and between different corridors. These corridor extensions also respond to customer expectations and demonstrate cooperation between numerous stakeholders,” the corridor project office highlighted in its official statement.
North Sea-Baltic rail freight corridor
The North Sea-Baltic rail freight corridor includes eight EU member states: Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Czechia, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. Its principal route runs from the major ports of the Benelux and Germany to the Polish-Belarussian border in Terespol. There are also three branches: the first line leads from Magdeburg to Prague via Falkenberg and Dresden, the second line begins in Falkenberg and ends in Medyka after crossing Lower and Upper Silesia, the third line connects Warsaw with the Baltic states. In total, the NS-B corridor has a length of over 9,600 kilometres of railways, it connects 257 dry and maritime terminals.