| Lineas | |
| Type: | Private |
| Foundation: | 2011 |
| Location City: | Brussels |
| Location Country: | Belgium |
| Key People: | Bernard Gustin (executive chairman) |
| Industry: | Rail Freight |
| Products: | Rail freight transport, logistics solutions |
| Revenue: | €500 million (2023) |
| Owner: | Federal Holding and Investment Company, Argos Wityu |
| Num Employees: | 1700 |
| Homepage: | www.lineas.net |
Lineas is Europe's largest private rail freight operator.[1] Headquartered in Belgium, it also operates from various sites across France, Germany and the Netherlands. The company, that was established as the successor to the freight division of the Belgian National Railway Company (NMBS / SNCB) and privatized in the context of the liberalization of the rail freight market, has rapidly expanded its operations across Europe. Shareholders are the Federal Holding and Investment Company (Federale Participatie- en Investeringsmaatschappij) and private equity group Argos Wityu.
The primary business activity of Lineas is the transport of goods by rail.
Lineas operates an extensive rail network across Europe, with key operational hubs in Flanders and Wallonia in Belgium, alongside major logistics centers in Germany, France, and the Netherlands. The company has strong ties with the largest North Sea Ports (Antwerp, Ghent, Zeebrugge, Rotterdam, Terneuzen) and plays a crucial role in connecting Europe’s industrial heart and largest chemical clusters. As a cross-border rail transport operator, Lineas provides its own traction in Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, France and Germany. Moreover, the company has a presence on both the French and German sides of the Rhine.
Lineas offers a wide range of rail freight transport services. These include:
Lineas serves a variety of industries. The key industry segments include:
Lineas invested heavily in technological innovation in recent years. The company’s digital platform, MyLineas, allows customers to manage their transports in real time. Key features include:
In recent years, Lineas has focused on promoting a level playing field within the rail freight sector and between rail and road transport. To address competition with major State-owned rail operators and reduce potential market distortions, Lineas has emphasized the need for fair competition measures. Additionally, the company advocates for the removal of tax advantages granted to road transport and supports the internalization of external costs, such as road congestion, pollution, and safety-related expenses, across all transport modes.
Lineas is led by Bernard Gustin, supported by a team of executives.
The Executive Leadership Team is composed of:
Country Managers:
Lineas follows strict standards in corporate governance, ensuring transparency, accountability, and ethical business practices.
Rail freight is the most sustainable freight transport mode: 1 train removes 50 trucks from the road. Moreover, rail freight emits 6x less CO2 and 8x less air pollution, and consumes 6x less energy.By enabling the modal shift from road to rail, Lineas aims to make a positive impact on society and address issues in multiple areas, such as climate change, congestion, air quality, and health and safety.Lineas also embraces its societal responsibility towards its main stakeholders: employees, customers, partners, and shareholders. ESG objectives and priorities are integral to how the company operates and are taken on board at every stage of managerial decision-making.In line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) framework and its own strategic vision, Lineas’ ESG efforts revolve around four essential sustainability pillars:
In the fiscal year 2023, Lineas reported a revenue of €500 million, reflecting strong growth in its operations.
In 2022, Lineas launched a transformation plan. The plan included restructuring loss-making products, a redesign of the offering focusing on corridors and an important reduction in overhead costs. Since then, the company has made significant progress and reduced its losses from €82 million in 2022 to €40.3 million in 2023. The first half of 2024 has continued this positive trend: losses were further reduced to just €5.1 million. This is also clearly reflected in the weekly customer mood, which has improved from 2.9 out of 5 in 2022 to a steady 3.5 today, with peaks reaching 4 out of 5.To achieve this, Lineas focused on 4 main actions:
As a private company, Lineas is not publicly traded.
Lineas has undergone a dynamic transformation since its start. Below is a structured overview of its history:
During 2005, the European Union gave the green light for the liberalisation of rail transport.[2] Following this decision, the National Railway Company of Belgium (NMBS/SNCB) was restructured into the NMBS/SNCB-Group, consisting of three companies: NMBS/SNCB, Infrabel and NMBS/SNCB-Holding. Until 2011, rail freight transport activities were a division of NBMS/SNCB, which operated under the name B-Cargo. Under NMBS/SNCB, B-Cargo was a loss-making division.
In 2011, the freight division was restructured and established as an independent entity named SNCB Logistics, though it remained entirely owned by the SNCB/NMBS Group.
A pivotal year in the company’s history, SNCB Logistics became a private entity. The private equity firm Argos Wityu, in collaboration with the company’s management, acquired a 69% stake[3], while SNCB/NMBS retained 31% ownership. This marked the beginning of a major transformation. Prior to privatisation, the company was not profitable; however, profitability soon increased.
In early 2017, B Logistics changed its name to Lineas.[4] [5], to reflect its new identity and strategic vision. This period also saw a steady reduction in its dependency on SNCB/NMBS and Infrabel, leaving only a few essential links to serve Lineas’ operational interests.
Argos Wityu, alongside management, acquired an additional 21% of SNCB/NMBS shares, increasing their total stake in the company.
During 2019, Lineas also doubled the capacity on the trains in and out of Antwerp to alleviate the impact of the works on the Oosterweel Link on Belgian mobility; by the following year, the company was reportedly removing 5,300 containers every week from Antwerp's road traffic (compared to 2,600 before).[6]
In February 2020, CEO Geert Pauwels received the European Railway Award. This recognition celebrated his leadership the transformation of a loss-making division of the Belgian railways into a profitable and innovative private rail freight operator.[7]
On 9 April 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic was disrupting industries worldwide, Lineas unveiled a white locomotive, the 'Heroes Loc', in the Port of Antwerp as a tribute to frontline workers in the fight against the coronavirus. At the same time, the locomotive wanted to highlight problems in the railway sector caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.[8]
Shortly thereafter, in response to the low water levels on the Rhine river, the company put on additional trains to ensure critical goods could be transported by rail instead of by barge.[9] [10] The Belgian government issued financial support to both Lineas and the rail freight sector at this time, implementing a reduced tariff for freight trains.[11]
In 2020, a partnership between Lineas, the Dutch rail infrastructure owner ProRail, and the French rolling stock manufacturer Alstom demonstrated a highly autonomous shunting locomotive.[12] [13]
In 2021, the Société Fédérale de Participations et d’Investissement (SFPI/FPIM) acquired SNCB/NMBS’ remaining 10% minority share, marking the end of SNCB/NMBS’ involvement[14] [15] . Lineas also expanded its presence in the Dutch market through the acquisition of Independent Rail Partner (IRP), strengthening its capabilities with additional locomotives and expertise.
A transformation plan was launched to ensure long-term growth and efficiency. Additionally, a new Executive Chairman was appointed to steer the company into its next phase.
On 1 April 2022, Lineas became the first rail company to apply a dynamic energy surcharge to all of its services; a spokesperson stated that this change was made to compensate for soaring energy prices.[16] [17]
That same year, the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets concluded that Lineas had been discriminated in the allocation of train paths at two emplacement yards in the Netherlands.[18]
Lineas initiated a capital increase project, with the first €20 million raised by existing shareholders to support its growth and restructuring plans.
Prior to 2023, Lineas, along with The Signalling Company, participated in the joint venture ERTMS Solutions. Early 2023, a 93.9% stake in the latter was acquired by Škoda Transportation. The Signalling Company has been a major supplier of Class B signaling system and European Train Control System (ETCS) equipment to various companies, including Lineas.[19]
The company further consolidates its financial position with:
Lineas has more than 6,700 wagons and 240 locomotives.[20] During the late 2010s, the company was engaged in a fleet expansion that was largely targeted at the international freight market.[21] Throughout the 2020s, hundreds of Lineas' locomotives were being retrofitted with ETCS.[22] Starting in 2021, Lineas, Ermewa and Beacon Rail have had a long-term partnership based on the sale-and-leaseback of both diesel locomotives and wagons.[23]
Lineas employs about 1700 people.
The company has proclaimed its ambition to realise a ‘modal shift’ in Europe, moving freight off the road and onto rail, to improve the supply chain of companies and address societal issues caused by traditional trucking such as mobility issues, climate impact due to high carbon emissions, health hazards due to air pollution, and unnecessary road casualties.
Lineas is a member of Rail Freight Forward,[24] the coalition of European rail freight companies aiming to reduce the negative impact of freight transport on mobility, climate and the environment by shifting freight from road to rail. The coalition aims to increase the modal share of rail freight in Europe from 18% in 2020 to 30% by 2030.
Lineas is also a member of the Belgian Rail Freight Forum.[25] In France, the company is part of the 4F, the Fret Ferroviaire Français du Futur.[26] In Germany, it is a member of the NEE, the Netzwerk Europäischer Eisenbahnen.[27]
In February 2020, Lineas became a member of the European Rail Freight Association (ERFA). The coalition aims to play a role in creating a common, fully liberalised and competitive European rail freight market.[28]
In June 2020, Lineas won the Voka Sustainable Business Charter (VCDO).[29] As a result of the charter, the company was the first Belgian transport company to receive the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) Certificate for Sustainable Business in October 2020.[30] Lineas was also appointed Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Pioneer for Sustainable development by the United Nations.
During June 2023, Linease announced that it was combining its various Dutch businesses into a single entity.[31] [32] Around the same time, the company’s two shareholders, the French investment fund Argos Wityu (90%) and the Belgian federal government (10%), are working on a first tranche of capital injection with the reported target of 20 million euros.[33] [34]