Soon several train operators between Amsterdam and Paris?
Six operators are planning to link Amsterdam to Paris via Brussels over the next few years. These involve both high-speed trains and traditional connections. “The market is highly competitive”, said Sophie Dutordoir, CEO of SNCB, last month.Read more
Belgium and Luxembourg request EU funding for better cross-border rail
Belgium’s Minister of Mobility George Gilkinet and his Luxembourgish counterpart Yuriko Backes met in Brussels for the first official bilateral meeting this week to assess shared railway projects and reiterate their joint ambitions regarding rail.Read more
Belgium and Luxembourg to double cross-border rail traffic by 2040
Every day, 45,000 Belgians commute to Luxembourg, and the two countries want to double this number by 2040. On October 3, 2023, Luxembourg’s Minister of Mobility François Bausch and his Belgian counterpart Georges Gilkinet signed...Read more
NS and SNCB: double services between Amsterdam and Brussels
Passenger rail operator Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS) and Belgian carrier SNCB are doubling the number of Intercity trains between the Netherlands and Brussels. The partners announced plans to double the number of daily services from 16...Read more
Brussels takes aim at the Netherlands for planning direct award to NS
The European Commission is starting an infringement procedure against the Netherlands for “failing to correctly apply” EU regulations on public transport, the European body announced on Friday. The Commission takes issue with plans for a...Read more
Belgian Minister Gilkinet talks rail challenges, night trains and more
InterviewThe Belgian federal government has “very big and positive intentions for trains and tracks”. “We want to make the train the backbone of the mobility of the future”, says Mobility Minister Georges Gilkinet in an...Read more
54 per cent of the Belgian railway network is now equipped with ETCS
The European Train Control System (ETCS) has been installed on an additional 127 kilometres of Belgian tracks, pushing the share tracks equipped with ETCS well over half. The goal is to have ETCS installed on...Read more
Rail market opening and Belgium: time for a discussion
While in Belgium SNCB is scheduled to receive a renewed concession for the next 10 years, the course from the European Commission in Brussels is instead to bring about more market opening on the railways,...Read more
Graffiti damage runs into the millions for rail operators
The financial damage to rolling stock due to graffiti runs into the millions annually, recent reports from Renfe, ÖBB, Dutch Railways and SNCB-NMBS have revealed.Read more
Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands sign for new cross-border service
Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands have signalled their intention to start a new cross-border rail service between the German city of Aachen and Liège in Belgium in December. In the Netherlands, the new service by...Read more
Belgium commits to phasing out diesel-powered rolling stock
Belgium is dedicated to finding alternative to the remaining diesel-powered rolling stock in Flanders, federal minister for Mobility Georges Gilkinet said in response to questions by a member of parliament this week. Battery-electric trains are...Read more
AllRail warns Belgian government for sustaining SNCB monopoly
AllRail, the European interest group for independent passenger rail companies, is threatening to file a complaint against the Belgian government with the European Commission. It warns that the plans to give a direct award for...Read more
Alstom to install ETCS on 120 Belgian SNCB locomotives
Supplier Alstom has won a contract for to equip 120 SNCB locomotives with train control system ETCS level 2. The project to install the system launches in October 2022 and will run for three years.Read more