About 75 percent of the regulations facing the transport and logistics sector in the Netherlands originate in Brussels. To exert influence on this, Robbe Van Grembergen represents Transport en Logistiek Nederland (TLN) at the European Parliament, the Council, and the Commission, and sits on various international umbrella organizations. “It is special to receive the recognition as Rail Talent of the Year. I believe that the future of transport lies in the interplay between modalities facilitated at the European level. But certainly in the field of freight transport, I advocate for rail to play a much larger role.”

As a representative of TLN, Van Grembergen champions the interests of the entire transport chain. “From road transport to rail, and from inland shipping to, to a limited extent, air freight transport. Basically everything except the bicycle,” the lobbyist laughs. “TLN is unique in Brussels in this respect. We look beyond the modalities, whereas most interest groups in Brussels are compartmentalized and focus on a single modality. We, on the other hand, seek connection.” In addition, TLN is fully committed to sustainability. Consequently, Van Grembergen has restructured the lobbying efforts towards the European Union so that sustainability takes precedence. “The Netherlands has become wealthy thanks to transport. The sector is a driving force behind the country’s economy. But to make the sector future-proof, we must become more sustainable. This cannot be achieved by electrifying all road vehicles because the power grid cannot handle it. We need to organize CO₂ reduction more intelligently, and rail plays an essential role in this.”

Multimodality

Van Grembergen indicates that Europe currently still consists of 27 ‘rail islands’; it is still too much of a case of every member state acting independently. “Road freight transport is simple and relatively cheap. Rail is technically complex and expensive. However, TLN advocates for more combined transport. For short distances, rail will never be able to compete with road, but for long international distances, rail must become a good alternative and be included by carriers in their choices. To achieve this, we are seeking European cooperation and innovation.” The lobbyist also sees opportunities in rail freight transport. “Current European and national policy focuses too much on addressing symptoms and insufficiently on structural investments and the preconditions required for them. Think of high operating costs, limited capacity, poor punctuality, and fragmented regulations. With more European coordination, targeted investments in capacity, better harmonization of rules, and a serious drive towards digitalization, rail can become a much more attractive transport option and have a solid business case,” according to the lobbyist.

Practice and politics

As Rail Talent of the Year, Van Grembergen will continue to work to bridge the gap between the field and politics. “The demand for goods will only increase in the coming years, the number of drivers is decreasing, and we also want to reduce CO₂ emissions. To achieve this, road, rail, water, and air transport must not compete with each other but rather complement one another; a multimodal approach is the solution. I actually want rail to become a reflex for road carriers to reduce empty kilometers, as a solution to the driver shortage or to meet climate targets. I will not stop bringing this to the attention of politicians here in Brussels.”

Robbe van Grembergen together with the other nominees: Casper Wouters and Bastiaan Bertram