More than a thousand trucks transferred from road to inland waterway every day
The European Commission has given the Netherlands permission to set aside 22,5 million euros in a modal shift of the claim. The money is intended to encourage transporters to stimulate their livestock via the interior waters. That is beneficial for the removal of road congestion, traffic-related snarls on the road, traffic safety, and the reduction of CO2 emissions.
The Cabinet decides to promote the transition of through freight transportation from roads to inland waterways and rail through the modal shift scheme. The government is taking these steps in order to relieve road congestion, reduce traffic on the main general routes for freight transport, and thereby contribute to the greening of freight transport. This is due to the Department of Public Works’ extensive replacement and restoration assignment.
Subsidy Scheme
The subsidy scheme is aimed at shippers and forwarders. To encourage them to opt for inland shipping, a subsidy of 20 Euros per structurally moved container (or equivalent in the case of bulk) is envisaged. The subsidy is intended to offset the extra transport costs of inland shipping (such as an extra transshipment of the container). Entrepreneurs who come up with a concrete proposal how they want to move goods from road to water or rail can apply for a subsidy. To do so, these entrepreneurs must be active on (parts of) the route between the Port of Rotterdam and Germany, via the regions Arnhem-Nijmegen (East corridor) and/or via Venlo (South-East corridor) and the route Amsterdam towards Antwerp (South corridor).
Accessibility and safety.
The scheme contributes to keeping cities and industrial port complexes in the Dutch Randstad accessible. By broadening the possibilities by tendering for new scheduled inland shipping services and encouraging the choice to transport freight via inland shipping by a subsidy scheme. This will reduce pressure on the road network and increase road safety. The purpose of the Modal Shift scheme is explicitly to take additional cargo off the road, not to achieve a shift within the already existing flow by water or rail.
