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Nieuwsblad Transport reported this week that Lineas, the Belgian rail freight operator and former NMBS cargo arm, continues to face serious financial challenges despite repeated state-backed rescue operations. The company, which has positioned itself as Europe’s largest private rail freight carrier, has suffered from sustained losses in recent years and an unexpected decline in volumes from key industrial customers in the steel and chemical sectors.

Falling demand and persistent cost pressures have deepened Lineas’ liquidity problems, leading the Belgian state to provide yet another emergency loan this summer to prevent bankruptcy. The support comes on top of previous injections from both public and private investors, underlining the structural difficulties faced by the company. While successive management teams have presented reorganisation and recovery plans, profitability has remained elusive.

The difficulties of Lineas are not unique but reflect broader pressures on European rail freight. RailFreight.com reported this week that Dutch rail freight is also bracing for another difficult year. After volumes dropped for two consecutive years, operators have requested 14% fewer train paths for 2026, according to ProRail. The decline is linked to capacity restrictions on the vital Emmerich–Oberhausen corridor in Germany, but more fundamentally to a sharp downturn in demand from key industrial sectors. Coal, which accounted for a quarter of rail freight in the Netherlands in 2014, has shrunk to just 12% of volumes in 2024 as the energy transition accelerates. Meanwhile, high energy prices are weighing on steel, chemical and automotive industries, leading many shippers to shift back to road or inland waterways.

The declining market share of rail in hinterland transport is particularly visible in the Netherlands’ main port. In Rotterdam, rail accounts for just 9% of container hinterland movements, compared to more than 50% in Hamburg. These figures underline the competitive disadvantage rail continues to face in Europe, particularly when contrasted with road transport, which in Belgium benefits from diesel tax rebates that operators such as Lineas have long argued distort competition.

The potential collapse of Lineas would have significant consequences for the Belgian economy and beyond. The company employs around 1,300 people and is a key service provider for major shippers such as BASF and ArcelorMittal. Most critically, the Port of Antwerp – a central logistics hub for Europe – relies heavily on Lineas to move cargo to and from the hinterland. Without Lineas, large parts of the Belgian rail freight system risk losing critical capacity, with no immediate alternatives available.

For policymakers, the question is now whether Lineas can be turned around with further restructuring and new capital, or whether the Belgian state will ultimately assume majority control, effectively undoing the privatisation of the company a decade ago. Whatever the outcome, the developments in Belgium and the Netherlands raise fundamental questions about the resilience and competitiveness of rail freight in Europe, and about the conditions needed for operators to play their part in sustainable supply chains.