The global barge industry is projected to be worth $140 billion by 2026, with studies showing that barge traffic saves around $12 billion in transportation costs when you consider that a single barge only requires a gallon of fuel to move one tonne of cargo 647 miles.

Comparatively, trains move the same cargo for 477 miles, while trucks only manage 145 miles per gallon.

Across Europe, we operate 20 terminals in 12 countries, with rail or barge services available at approximately 95 percent – as we look to provide more resilient and sustainable transport services across the continent.

Transforming Trade Together

To power a strong global recovery and ensure a trading landscape fit for the future, we must collaborate with governments and industry partners to build more resilient and sustainable global supply chains, which create more resilient and sustainable communities.

The modernisation of ports, terminals, and supply chains, and the improvement of critical infrastructure are only achievable by working in collaboration with governments and port authorities to mitigate disruption and deal with rising consumer demand. We must partner with governments to improve their competitiveness in global trade and bring prosperity through improved infrastructure, the removal of trade barriers, and the creation of jobs and social investment.

Benefit In Benelux

DP World Antwerp, one of the greenest multipurpose terminals in the world, boasts unrivalled railhead services, handling up to 40 trains each week – with flexible, direct connections to every major European industrial region. The rail hub at Antwerp Gateway can handle six trains simultaneously, benefiting from six 750m rail tracks – capable of handling any type of block train.

The port is also connected to the 1,500 km long Belgian waterway network and to the pan-European river and canal network, resulting in a substantial 35 percent of all cargo to and from Antwerp Gateway being transported by barge.

At nearby Rotterdam World Gateway, 65 percent of containers continue their journey through inland shipping and on trains helping to minimise the impact on the environment.

Unrivalled In The UK

Our on-site rail connections at London Gateway and Southampton take 300,000 trucks off UK roads each year, reducing congestion on the roads and carbon emissions. London Gateway and Southampton are the only ports in the entire country that can handle the country’s longest freight trains, spanning 775m with the capacity of over 76 trucks. At Southampton, 30 percent of cargo is transported by rail – the highest rate in the UK.

Danube And Beyond

One significant example where we are looking to maximise barge use is on the River Danube, which passes through more countries than any other river in the world, thereby making it a hugely significant trading route.

Barges on the Danube can transport goods all the way from south-west Germany, through several mainland countries, including Serbia, served by DP World Novi Sad, through to DP World Constanta – where it meets the Black Sea Basin connecting to Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Central Asia.

Gateways To The East

Constanta – on the south coast of Romania – is the Black Sea’s premier port, and the only one in the country with rail and barge onsite. The terminal transports approximately 30 percent of cargo by rail, feeding burgeoning consumer markets in Eastern Europe. This offers logistics partners intermodal connections to avoid bottlenecks and increased reliability and reassurance. It also offers a three-line rail terminal. Each line is 600m long, capable of handling three complete 30 wagon trains at one time, operating two rail-mounted gantries with an adjacent stacking yard of 5,000 sqm. It also offers onward rail services via a first-class feeder connection to Bulgaria, Georgia, and Moldova.

In Turkey, the international railway line, which has onsite access to DP World Yarimca, offers direct access to CIS countries and China through the Middle Corridor connection as well as the Kars-Tbilisi-Baku connection.

Demand for express delivery has soared in recent years and that is only going to continue due to consumer expectations around time, efficiency and sustainability as companies and end-users look to understand more about the carbon footprint of their goods. Rail and barge transport will be key to reducing carbon emissions within our sector.