Toxic Trains Dossier
By The Investigative Lab, Anik See, Cornelia Eisenach, Dylan Carter, Julius Dullaert, Thaïs Chaigne | 5 December, 2025
This dossier is the result of a five months-long collaboration of five European journalists. Together, they investigated the transportation of ammonia via rail, in Belgium, France, Germany and The Netherlands. Ammonia is a toxic chemical. It is used for fertiliser prodction but will also be used in great volumes as a carrier of hydrogen, which is expected to play a key role in the energy transition.
The five journalists participated in the Environmental Investigative Teaching Lab, an international training programme created by The Investigative Desk, with funding from JournalismFund Europe.
Their stories describe the environmental risks of transporting ammonia in France; local opposition to the building of ammonia storage tanks in the Rotterdam harbour; the increase of ammonia transports on a Belgian railway line that lacks basic safety equipment; and the challenges of building an expensive ammonia-based hydrogen infrastructure in The Netherlands and Germany. The team also found out that European countries are importing large quantities of Russian fertiliser, produced with cheap Russian gas – thus circumventing the EU-sanctions against direct Russian gas imports.
Read the whole dossier here.
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