Road transport

The port of Antwerp is connected to all major European centres of consumption and production. Not only within the port area itself, but also outside of the port area, and the extended road network contributes to Antwerp’s trumps.

A truck that leaves the port of Antwerp is not more than two traffic lights away from the Antwerp ring road, leading to all parts of Europe. 

Barge transport

The port of Antwerp is located in the Scheldt-Maas-Rhine delta, connecting it not only to the 1.500 km Belgian network of inland waterways but also to the European network.

Barge transport now forms an integral part of the chain of transport. Already about a third of Antwerp’s container volume is carried by barge, but it is suitable for carrying all types of cargo.

Barge transport is being encouraged by modernizing the Albert canal between Antwerp and Liège to make it possible for large pusher convoys to navigate along its entire length.

Rail transport

With an annual rail cargo volume of more than 23 million tonnes, Antwerp is the second rail port in Europe. To handle this volume, the port has a network of over 1.100 km of rail track, enabling practically every facility, warehouse or company to be easily reached by rail. From Antwerp there are regular trains in all directions, so that all European destinations can be reached quickly and easily.

In order to increase the share of rail transport in the total flow of traffic, a second rail tunnel is planned alongside the existing Liefkenshoek road tunnel. The new tunnel should come into operation by 2011, making it possible to cope with the expected growth in rail transport.

The port of Antwerp has also requested the reopening of the ‘Iron Rhine’, an existing rail link between the port of Antwerp and both the Ruhr area and Eastern Europe via The Netherlands.