Port of Antwerp-Bruges is expanding its rail network with three new connections. These new train services increase freight capacity and connect Antwerp with Widnau and Frenkendorf, Zeebrugge with Mannheim, and Chengdu with Antwerp.
Antwerp - Frenkendorf and Widnau
Companies in the Swiss Rhine Valley have had access to a new direct rail link to European seaports since August 2025, when Swiss rail operator Schweizerzug, part of Swissterminal, launched the Widnau Express, a fast freight service for containers to Widnau and Frenkendorf.
The service runs three times per week between Antwerp Gateway and Frenkendorf, and twice per week between Frenkendorf and Widnau. From Frenkendorf, the service connects to existing Schweizerzug routes to Antwerp (Belgium), Rotterdam (The Netherlands), and Genoa (Italy). Thanks to this expansion, freight can be transported sustainably, quickly, and efficiently to major European ports.
Zeebrugge - Mannheim
Since the end of August, COSCO Shipping Lines has been operating a direct train service between the CSP Zeebrugge Terminal and Contargo Mannheim in Germany. Trains run two to three times per week in both directions, with a transit time of around 13 hours and a capacity of 80 TEU (forty 40-foot containers). From Mannheim, trucks distribute the cargo to industrial centres in Southwest Germany, including Ludwigshafen, Heidelberg, Karlsruhe, and Mainz.
With this new sea-rail corridor, COSCO Shipping Lines is directly linking the strategic North Sea port of Zeebrugge with Germany’s industrial heartland. By replacing road transport with multimodal alternatives, the shipping line is helping make the logistics chain in Europe more efficient and sustainable.
Antwerp - Chengdu
On 27 August, the first freight train from the Qingbaijiang Railway Terminal in Chengdu arrived at Port of Antwerp-Bruges. Part of the cargo continued from Antwerp to Barcelona via Kombiverkehr and to North Africa via shortsea shipping.
The new service, officially named the “Dedicated DPD of La Poste of France China-Europe Africa Train Service Chengdu-Antwerp”, is a collaboration between Silk Road Leader, Chengdu International Rail Service Company (CDIRS), and DPD of La Poste France. DPD has its own branch office in Chengdu.
This new link highlights the shared ambition of Port of Antwerp-Bruges and its Chinese partners to build strong trade routes between Europe, North Africa, and China. The rail operators involved aim to offer the service to Antwerp on a weekly basis in the future.
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