ProRail Taps VolkerRail for Waalhaven Zuid Yard Rebuild in Rotterdam

ProRail signed a contract with VolkerRail on October 15, 2026 to redevelop the Waalhaven Zuid rail yard at the Port of Rotterdam, equipping it with six tracks that can handle freight and container trains up to 740 metres long. Construction starts in late 2026 and runs through the end of 2028 — roughly two years of works inside a yard that must keep handling trains the whole time.

The rebuild is Rotterdam's next concrete step in shifting more cargo off the road and onto rail, adding capacity on the corridor between Europe's largest container port and inland destinations. According to ProRail, the investment will help Waalhaven Zuid meet increasing demand for rail freight services to and from the port.

What does the upgrade actually deliver?

The physical scope is specific. Alongside the six long tracks, the project adds 12 locomotive parking spaces, upgrades existing railway infrastructure and extends electrification across the site.

ProRail will also improve the separation of secured and unsecured areas within the yard. The result, the infrastructure manager expects, is safer and more efficient train movements and shunting operations — a bottleneck point in current operations.

For rail operators and shippers, the 740-metre figure matters most. That train length is the European standard for full-length intermodal services, and yards that cannot accommodate it force operators to split consists or run shorter, less economical trains.

How will freight keep moving during construction?

The central challenge is executing the redevelopment while keeping rail freight services running wherever possible. Space at Waalhaven Zuid is limited, and the works must satisfy technical, environmental and permitting requirements simultaneously.

To manage that squeeze, ProRail has reached agreements with the Municipality of Rotterdam and the Port of Rotterdam Authority to secure temporary working space near the site. Those arrangements buy the project room to sequence construction without shutting the yard down.

ProRail and VolkerRail will now finalise construction arrangements. Rail operators, shippers and other stakeholders will receive updates on the works and any expected disruption — meaning forwarders routing cargo through Waalhaven Zuid should plan for phased constraints through 2028 rather than a single closure window.

The project also receives financial support from the European Commission, aligning it with EU policy priorities on shifting freight from road to rail.

For carriers, the payoff arrives at the back end: from 2029, Waalhaven Zuid will offer six full-length tracks, more locomotive capacity and safer shunting, expanding the port's ability to absorb growing rail volumes.