Lommel (Brussels Morning Newspaper) -Infrabel, as rail infrastructure manager, will spend this year launching a feasibility examination regarding the new concrete unloading dock construction at Lommel’s Kristalpark industrial zone.
Infrabel plans to conduct a feasibility study this year to evaluate building a new concrete unloading quay facility at Kristalpark in Lommel. Companies operating on the estate, including Turkish glass manufacturer Ciner Glass, have undertaken this initiative to transport raw materials and finished goods between locations.
The project receives backing from Lommel City together with the Limburg Reconversion Company (LRM) and the Flemish Agency for Innovation & Entrepreneurship (VLAIO). A new factory built by Ciner Glass on the Kristalpark III industrial estate receives €5 million from Flemish support, while the construction demands an investment of €640 million.
Public ownership of the suggested unloading quay provides a useful harbour facility for all industrial operations in this area. The proposed project plans to use an operational freight railway system that functioned for the Rampage Open Air festival in 2022.
The new factory, which is being built by Ciner Glass, will generate 1,300 tons of glass every day, which will result in millions of glass bottles. The project’s cost-benefit evaluation for Infrabel and Ciner Glass will produce final results during the year’s last quarter. Infrabel needs to determine the availability of rail time and space for new freight trains.
“There have been discussions with Ciner Glass about the realisation of a concrete unloading quay and an access to the company via the railway,”
Confirms Frédéric Petit of Infrabel.
“A feasibility study will now be carried out. This will include a cost-benefit analysis for both us and Ciner Glass and should be completed by the end of this year. Then we will have a better view of the continuation of the project.”
Infrabel will also investigate whether there is time and space on the track for the new freight trains.
“Then you have to look at where those trains would come from and where they would have to go. We hope to gain insight into that too,”
Petit explains.
Petit emphasizes how interesting the project can be.
“It is strategically very well located and several companies have left. If you then know that an average freight train takes 50 trucks off the road, then you see the sustainable potential here. That way you avoid traffic jams. So it is interesting for the economy and certainly the Limburg economy.”
Infrabel is, therefore happy to cooperate.
“It is about rail transport. That is what we are focusing on. If companies are interested in a rail connection and freight transport by rail, that is interesting for us, mobility, sustainability and the economy. That is why we will always sit around the table”,
Concludes the spokesperson for Infrabel.
What is the history of Lommel’s Kristalpark Industrial Estate?
The industrial Kristalpark estate in Lommel, Belgium, functions as an important centre for manufacturing and logistics operations. The economic development initiative established the estate, which has become an attraction for major investments throughout the years. Major developments, including Ciner Glass, established the area as they built a €640 million plant for daily glass production of 1,300 tons. The railroad system at the estate has traditionally handled freight operations, but the volume of traffic has decreased during the past several years. The proposed unloading quay seeks to revive this infrastructure while meeting Lommel’s strategic targets of economic development along with environmental sustainability through expanded rail transportation networks.
