European Commission state aid for Lineas: EUR 61m rescue loan

European Commission state aid for Lineas has been confirmed after Brussels approved a Belgian support package worth EUR 61 million, as outlined by the European Commission and reported by Railway Pro. Notified by Belgium in August 2025, the support is structured as a short-term rescue loan meant to cover the operator’s urgent liquidity needs.

This is reported by the railway transport news portal Railway Supply.

A rescue loan in line with EU rules

Lineas, described as Europe’s largest private rail freight operator, runs rail freight services across several Member States — Belgium, France, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands among them. It ran into financial difficulties after an unexpected decline in industrial demand, particularly in the steel, automotive and chemical sectors.

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In assessing the EUR 61 million rescue loan, the Commission relied on Article 107(3)(c) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) and the EU guidelines on rescue and restructuring aid. Brussels concluded the measure is compatible with EU rules and also pointed to rail freight transport as a low-emission alternative to road transport.

Under the terms of the measure, Belgium has committed to present a restructuring plan if the rescue loan is not repaid within six months.

Capital injections 2023 and 2024 not state aid

Alongside the loan review, the Commission also looked at two earlier capital injections from 2023 and 2024 after examining a complaint lodged by an interested third party. Those operations involved the Belgian sovereign fund SFPIM (FPIM/SPFI) together with the private shareholder Argos Wityu.

The Commission concluded the 2023 and 2024 capital injections were carried out on market terms and therefore do not constitute state aid, distinguishing them from the newly approved rescue loan.

Lineas considered “too important to fail”

Belgian authorities have argued that support is warranted because of Lineas’ strategic role in national logistics. The operator manages a significant part of Belgium’s rail freight traffic, particularly around the port of Antwerp, and is a key player for the chemical and steel industries, as well as for transport with military potential.

Lineas has recorded significant operating losses in recent years, though the numbers have been easing — from EUR 82 million in 2022 to around EUR 40 million in 2023, with a further decline estimated for 2024. In 2024, shareholders, supported by the Flanders and Wallonia regions, injected more than EUR 100 million into the company; Argos Wityu later announced it could no longer contribute financially.

Brussels said the loan is intended to ensure continuity of operations in a difficult economic context and to support a transition to a more sustainable business model. Lineas has over 1,500 employees and hundreds of industrial customers in Europe, and it says it aims to reach operational profitability (EBIT) in the coming years by expanding its intermodal services and attracting new private investment.

The European Commission state aid for Lineas provides limited breathing room, a development also covered by Railway Supply. In the medium term, the operator’s outlook will depend on implementing the restructuring plan and securing additional private capital in a European rail freight market that remains under pressure.

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