September 26, 2012 [Botlek Press Release] - Botlek Tank Terminal, Rotterdam has given the go-ahead for a consortium of contractors to start work on a new train loading station.
The station, with two 340-metre tracks, will be able to load six wagons simultaneously, at a rate of 400 tonnes per hour. Construction of this new rail link, at a cost of €2 million, will take around six months.
The new train loading station will further Botlek Tank Terminal’s ambition to cover all modes of transport and is a response to growing customer demand for rail transport.
The station will be used initially to load block trains with biodiesel and will be modified in due course to handle other oil products such as jet fuel, gasoline, diesel and edible oils. From two trains a week at the start, throughput can be increased to two trains a day.
BTT has a state-of-the-art terminal with ample deepwater berths and facilities for the transhipment and storage of a wide range of liquid bulk products. The 420-metre sea jetty is capable of handling two seagoing vessels of up to 115,000 DWT and two tank barges simultaneously, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Safety and environmental protection are a high priority at BTT and the company’s management system has ISO 9001, ISO 14000 and OSHAS 18000 certification.
The existing terminal, consisting of 34 storage tanks with a combined capacity of 200,000 m3, qualifies as a ‘zero-emission terminal’, making it one of the most environment-friendly tank terminals in the world.
The Port of Rotterdam has started reclaiming part of the harbour with a view to doubling the size of the existing site by mid-2014. This will allow Botlek Tank Terminal to expand storage capacity substantially, in one or more phases, to a maximum of 750,000 m3.
