Rhine
The Rhine axis constitutes the backbone of inland navigation in Europe. It links the largest seaports of Europe to their hinterland and to a large number of intermodal nodes.
More than two-thirds of all goods carried by European waterways are transported on the Rhine – Europe’s busiest waterway. The Rhine axis is also characterized by its high density of population and economic activity.
With more than 50 Mio t/year, Duisburg is the biggest inland port of the corridor followed by Liège, Cologne, Strasbourg and Ludwigshafen. Rotterdam is the biggest maritime port of the corridor followed by Amsterdam and Antwerp. The Network penetration on the Rhine also thanks to its main tributaries (Meuse, Moselle, Main, Neckar) which act as “feeders” of the artery.
The Rhine is integrated into the Rhine-Alpine corridor of the trans-European transport network (TEN-T).
2/3 OF ALL GOODS CARRIED BY EUROPEAN WATERWAYS PASS THROUGH THE RHINE
Picture : Port of Duisburg
Type of goods carried on the Rhine in 2014
Source: Calculation CCNR Secretariat on the basis of destatis data
| Length of the navigable section: | From Basel to Rotterdam 884 km |
| Main tributaries: | Neckar, Main, Moselle, Meuse |
| Transported goods/year: | 330 Mio tons on the Rhine15 Mio tons on the Main
12 Mio tons on the Moselle 6 Mio tons on the Neckar
|
| Markets in important development: | ContainersWeight-intensive goods
Chemicals Passengers
|
| Inland port of the corridor | Tonnage (mio/year) | Specialisation |
| Duisburg www.duisport.de | >49 | Containers, steel, coal,mineral oil, chemicals |
| Liege www.portdeliege.be | >13 | Coal, agricultural products,metal ores, building materials |
| Cologne www.hgk.de | >11 | Mineral oil products, chemicals, containers |
| Mannheim www.hafen-mannheim.de | >8 | Agricultural products, building materials, machines, containers |
| Strasbourg www.strasbourg.port.fr | >8 | Agricultural products,building materials, containers |
| Ludwigshafen www.haefen-rlp.de | >7 | Chemicals, mineral oil products |
| Neuss (Düsseldorf) www.nd-haefen.de | >7 | Agricultural products,building materials, containers |
| Basel www.port-of-switzerland.ch | >5 | Oil products, chemincals, ores and metal wastes, builing materials |
| Maritime port of the corridor | Inland navigation tonnage (estimation in mio/year) | Specialisation |
| Rotterdamwww.portofrotterdam.com | >200 | Raw materials and mineral oil products,ores and metal wastes, chemicals, solid fuels, containers |
| Antwerpwww.portofantwerp.com | >90 | Iron and steel products, fertilizers,Raw materials and mineral oil products, containers |
| Amsterdamwww.portofamsterdam.com | >30 | Foodstuffs and fodder, solid fuels, raw materials, raw minerals |
