EU Approves €29.3 Million State Aid for Multimodal Terminal in Stolberg, Germany

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On October 30, the European Commission approved, under EU State aid rules, €29.3 million in German State aid for the construction of a new multimodal rail-road freight terminal (EUREGIO-Terminal) at Stolberg main station near Aachen. The aid will be paid as a direct grant to EVS EUREGIO Verkehrsschienennetz GmbH, which will become the owner of the terminal.

The funding is for the construction of a facility for transshipping goods between rail and trucks. The terminal is planned to become operational in 2035 and to reach full capacity in 2037.

The European Commission assessed the measure under Article 93 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and the Guidelines on State aid for land transport and multimodal transport, and found it to be "necessary and proportionate" for promoting the use of rail transport, with an "incentive effect" — the beneficiary would not carry out the investment without public support. The Commission also found that the measure has a limited impact on competition and trade between Member States. The decision will be published in the EU State aid register under case number SA.122481 in a non-confidential version.

According to the feasibility study documents for the Aachen urban region, approximately 19.4 hectares of land are reserved around Stolberg main station for a container transshipment site (the Euregio Railport), which is adjacent to the Aachen–Cologne main line. EVS EUREGIO Verkehrsschienennetz GmbH already owns rail facilities in the area and serves as the owner and operator of most of the rail assets.