The Iron Rhine will be revived in Europe

The Iron Rhine is a railway line connecting the Belgian port of Antwerp with Germany's Ruhr (industrial) region. It was built in the 19th century but fell into disrepair after World War II, according to Politico.

Now, with the EU's military mobility needs growing and other rail lines facing capacity issues, pressure to take action is mounting.

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“It's getting on people's nerves,” said a mobility consultant close to the negotiations, noting that discussions are gaining momentum.

Belgian Transport Ministry spokesman Thomas De Spiegler also effectively confirmed the talks, saying:

“This is a political project. Prime Minister Bart De Wever has taken control of the project,” he said.

Despite the support, not everyone is fully on board with the idea of prioritizing the revival of the railway.

Among them are the Dutch. Their section is short, and the parallel Betuwe line already connects Rotterdam with Germany.

This reluctance has commercial roots: the port of Antwerp (Belgium) has long been in favor of the “Iron Rhine,” seeing it as a potential challenge to the dominance of the port of Rotterdam in the region.

The Netherlands does not want the project because it offers them little and could harm their main port, Rotterdam, thereby strengthening their competitor, Antwerp in Belgium. But at the same time, the country may agree.

Belgium hopes that the military aspect will speed up the resumption of the project. However, as railway expert Herman Walter noted, “the key to success lies with the Netherlands.” He added that if it costs the country little or nothing, then they will cooperate.

According to the expert, one of the reasons why the Netherlands may change its decision is the potential financial incentive from the new NATO and EU spending targets.

In the proposal for the next EU budget, €17 billion could be allocated to military mobility from 2027.

“If the EU provides free money for infrastructure construction, even the Netherlands, which is reluctant to do so, will join in,” said the security consultant.

Photo: Markus Schweiss via Wikipedia.

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