ITL Benelux

ITL Benelux (Import Transport Logistik) is a rail freight undertaking licensed in the Netherlands from 2007 and part of the ITL Group, which also has operations in Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic. Its office is located in Hendrik-Ido-Ambacht in the Netherlands. The company operates international freight trains, with a focus on container shuttles, tank-wagon traffic and bulk grain movements linking the Dutch ports and industrial clusters with destinations in Central and Eastern Europe. ITL Benelux's network is built around a set of named and recurring services. Since 1 September 2007 it has run the "Tulipan-shuttle", a container train between Maasvlakte West and Prague operating three to four times per week; until that date the service had been operated by ACTS on ITL's behalf. It also took over container trains to Sladkovice that had previously been run by Railion. From 16 August 2007 ITL began partly operating tank-wagon trains for styrene traffic filled in the Botlek area. By the end of March 2008 ITL was running all NYK shuttles to Duisburg, Lovosice and Aschaffenburg, which had previously been operated by Rail4chem. In addition, ITL runs several trains per week for UBC to destinations including Gablingen and Schkopau, and regularly operates grain trains to Rotterdam and Amsterdam. On 8 April 2008 the company announced that Fret SNCF would acquire 75% of its shares. The stated aim of the acquisition was to realise more traffic in an eastern direction, such as Poland and Russia. SNCF Fret had ordered eighty TRAXX locomotives from manufacturer Bombardier, although it remained unclear whether some of these would be allocated to subsidiaries. ITL Benelux's traction fleet has included four V100 locomotives (ex-DB Baureihe 202), four TRAXX F 140 MS2 units leased from CB Rail, and two Baureihe 189 ES64F4 locomotives. The company is a specialised cross-border rail freight operator rather than a household consumer brand, and its identity is tied to its role within the ITL Group's logistics network.

ITL Benelux (Import Transport Logistik) is a rail freight undertaking that was licensed in the Netherlands from 2007. It forms part of the ITL Group, which also has establishments in Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic, and its office is located in Hendrik-Ido-Ambacht. The company's operational history in the late 2000s is marked by the takeover of several existing train services. From 1 September 2007 ITL Benelux ran the "Tulipan-shuttle", a container train between Maasvlakte West and Prague operating three to four times per week; until that date the service had been operated by ACTS on ITL's behalf. It similarly took over container trains to Sladkovice that had previously been run by Railion. From 16 August 2007 ITL began partly operating tank-wagon trains for styrene traffic filled in the Botlek area. By the end of March 2008 ITL was running all NYK shuttles to Duisburg, Lovosice and Aschaffenburg, which had previously been operated by Rail4chem. In addition, ITL ran several trains per week for UBC to destinations including Gablingen and Schkopau, and regularly operated grain trains to Rotterdam and Amsterdam. On 8 April 2008 the company announced that Fret SNCF would acquire 75% of its shares. The stated purpose of the acquisition was to realise more traffic in an eastern direction, such as Poland and Russia. SNCF Fret had ordered eighty TRAXX locomotives from manufacturer Bombardier, though it remained unclear whether some of these would go to subsidiaries. In terms of rolling stock, ITL Benelux has operated four V100 locomotives (ex-DB Baureihe 202), four TRAXX F 140 MS2 units leased from CB Rail, and two Baureihe 189 ES64F4 locomotives. The company's trajectory illustrates the wave of liberalisation and cross-border consolidation in European rail freight during the 2000s, in which incumbent operators, new private entrants and state-owned groups competed for international corridors.

• ITL Benelux is licensed as a rail freight undertaking in the Netherlands.

• ITL begins partly operating tank-wagon trains for styrene traffic filled in the Botlek area.

• ITL Benelux takes over operation of the Tulipan-shuttle container train between Maasvlakte West and Prague, previously run by ACTS on ITL's behalf.

• By end of March 2008 ITL runs all NYK shuttles to Duisburg, Lovosice and Aschaffenburg, previously operated by Rail4chem.

• ITL Benelux announces that Fret SNCF will acquire 75% of its shares, aiming to realise more traffic in an eastern direction such as Poland and Russia.

Specialist cross-border rail freight operator within the ITL Group, focused on container, chemical and bulk flows between the Benelux ports and Central/Eastern Europe.

• Tulipan-shuttle

  Container train between Maasvlakte West and Prague, run three to four times per week since 1 September 2007.

• NYK shuttles

  Container shuttles to Duisburg, Lovosice and Aschaffenburg, all run by ITL by end of March 2008.

• Styrene tank-wagon trains

  Tank-wagon trains for styrene traffic filled in the Botlek area, partly operated by ITL from 16 August 2007.

• Grain trains

  Grain trains regularly run to Rotterdam and Amsterdam.

• UBC trains

  Several trains per week for UBC to destinations including Gablingen and Schkopau.

1. 1ITL Benelux – Wikidatawikidata.org
2. 2ITL Benelux – Wikipedia (Dutch)nl.wikipedia.org