BLS Cargo Nord
| Formerly | Crossrail Benelux Dillen & Le Jeune Cargo |
|---|---|
| Type | Subsidiary |
| Industry | Rail freight |
| Founded | 2000 |
| Founder | Ronny Dillen Jeroen Le Jeune |
| Headquarters | , Belgium |
Area served | Port of Antwerp, Belgium |
| Parent | BLS Cargo |
| Website | www.blscargo.ch/en/blscargonord |
BLS Cargo Nord, formerly Crossrail Benelux and Dillen & Le Jeune Cargo, is a Belgian rail freight company. It is a subsidiary of BLS Cargo.
History
[edit]
Dillen & Le Jeune Cargo (DLC) was formed in 2000 by Ronny Dillen and Jeroen Le Jeune. It was the first private company to operate freight trains in Belgium. In October 2001, Hupac became a shareholder.
In April 2002, the first container train was hauled for MSC from Port of Antwerp to Aachen West station by a Class 66 locomotive and onwards to Schwandorf station with a Hupac hired electric locomotive, breaking the monopoly of state owned NMBS/SNCB.[1]
A license to access the Dutch network was obtained at the beginning of 2003, with the first train hauled to Waalhaven on 31 January. Trains to and from the Zeelandic Flanders (a part of Netherlands which is not directly connected to the remainder of the Dutch rail network) became recurring traffic, with the Terneuzen based Bertschi container terminal as client.
In October 2007, DLC merged with Babcock & Brown owned Crossrail.[2][3] Hupac sold its stake with Ronny Dillen and Jeroen Le Jeune each having 25.5% and Babcock & Brown 49%.[4]
Problems between both founders resulted in August 2008 in Jeroen Le Jeune leaving the company for a few months.[5] As Babcock & Brown was facing strong difficulties after the global credit crunch, Jeroen Le Jeune purchased its 49% shareholding in August 2009 along with Ronny Dillen's shares.[6]
In September 2009, Crossrail successfully sued Belgian rail network manager Infrabel for having given full priority to passenger traffic instead of treating all rail operators equally during a strike.[7]
As traffic grew, Le Jeune quickly faced liquidity problems and searched partners to refund the company:[8] The first candidate was no newcomer. Hupac took a 25% participation on 24 August 2010.[9] As of February 2012, two customers of the company, LKW Walter and Général Transport Service, acquired shareholdings of 25% and 10% respectively, with Le Jeune’s reduced to 40%.[10] Two other customers, Bertschi and MSC, each aqcuired 10% shareholdings from Le Jeune in July 2012.[11]
In April 2016, control of the company passed to Rhenus Group (75%) and LKW Walter (25%).[12] The Swiss division was split off, sold and merged to Cargologic in 2018.
In March 2019, BLS Cargo acquired Crossrail Benelux,[13] and in 2020 Crossrail Benelux became a full division of the BLS Cargo group, providing traction services in Germany and Belgium exclusively for BLS Cargo, and the customer contracts were transferred to BLS Cargo.[14]
On 1 September 2025, Crossrail Benelux was rebranded BLS Cargo Nord.[15] and continues under the BLS Cargo brand. The core business remains unchanged: BLS Cargo Nord operates BLS Cargo trains in Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany.
References and notes
[edit]Notes
[edit]References
[edit]- ↑ Crossrail and DLC to merge Today's Railways Europe issue 144 December 2007 page 10
- ↑ Crossrail and DLC set to merge Railway Gazette International 4 October 2007
- ↑ Crossrail joins forces with DLC Lloyd's List 8 October 2007
- ↑ Swiss-Belgian merger planned International Railway Journal November 2007 page 10
- ↑ Le Jeune leaves Dillen Meuse-Rhine Journal 14 August 2014
- ↑ Crossrail goes back home Ship 2 Shore 7 September 2007
- ↑ "Infrabel heeft goederenvervoerder Crossrail gediscrimineerd". lexpress.be (in Dutch). 1 September 2009.
- ↑ "Spoorbedrijf Crossrail mikt op snelle doorstart". lexpress.be (in Dutch). 28 October 2009.
- ↑ "Hupac takes crossrail stake". Railway Gazette International. 26 August 2010.
- ↑ "Neue, starke Partner für CROSSRAIL". bahnonline.ch (in German). 23 February 2012. Archived from the original on 14 June 2015. Retrieved 25 March 2014.
- ↑ "Chemical logistics specialist Bertschi Global Logistics and MSC Belgium NV have each taken a 10% stake in Swiss rail freight company, Crossrail AG". lloydsloadinglist.com. 4 July 2012.
- ↑ World Cargo News [permanent dead link]
- ↑ "BLS Cargo übernimmt Crossrail – 07.03.2019 – BLS AG". 7 March 2019.
- ↑ BLS (23 March 2021). "BLS Cargo fährt erfolgreich durch die Pandemie" (in German). Retrieved 26 September 2022.
Eingliederung von Crossrail in die BLS Cargo Gruppe. Die zur BLS Cargo Gruppe gehörende belgische Crossrail Benelux NV wurde im Berichtsjahr vollständig zur Produktionsgesellschaft umgewandelt und erbringt seither Traktionsleistungen in Deutschland und Belgien – ausschliesslich für BLS Cargo. Sämtliche Kundenverträge und Marktaktivitäten gingen an BLS Cargo über.
- ↑ Crossrail Benelux becomes BLS Cargo Nord BLS Cargo 26 May 2025