(Belga) The renovation of the freight train formation station in the port of Zeebrugge has been completed. The modernization will have required a budget of 133 million euros and lasted 12 years. “The biggest rail works ever carried out in the port of Zeebrugge”, indicated the manager of the rail network Infrabel.
The new station has 18 tracks, representing more than 18 kilometers of rails and one million kilograms of metal. It consists of two large groups of tracks: the Zwankendamme start and finish group (ready since the end of 2018) and the Zeebrugge sorting group. There are also long tracks of 750 meters to handle convoys of up to 45 wagons. Both lines are located along the Bruges-Zeebrugge passenger line. Freight trains will therefore cross this line less often. “This is a plus both for safety and for the capacity and punctuality of passenger and goods traffic”, explains Infrabel. The manager specified that measures have been taken to limit the nuisance for the residents of the village of Zwankendamme, such as buffer zones, low-noise switches and dampers and rail pads which absorb noise and vibrations. (Belga)
