Belgian railway news – Page 4
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NewsAlstom awarded 60-loco maintenance contract
EUROPE: Alstom has signed a contract to provide full-service maintenance for 60 MaK DE6400 diesel locomotives operated by DB Cargo Belgium and DB Cargo Netherlands. Alstom sites in Rotterdam and Brugge will be responsible for preventive and corrective maintenance for an initial term of three years, ...
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NewsBeacons deployed to provide better train location data than GPS
BELGIUM: National passenger operator SNCB has completed an initial deployment of HID Global’s real-time location services platform and BEEKs Bluetooth Low-Energy beacons to provide more precise data than is possible with GPS. This approach replaces the use of an app on an onboard attendant’s smartphone which ...
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NewsEurostar Group names next CEO and targets 30 million passengers within 10 years
EUROPE: Gwendoline Cazenave has been appointed as CEO of Eurostar Group with effect from October 1. She will succeed Jacques Damas, who has been CEO of Eurostar since October 2020 and CEO of Eurostar Group since it was formed as the holding company for Eurostar and ...
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In depthInfrastructure: Belgium learns to live with extreme weather
Infrabel CEO Benoit Gilson reflects on the devastating floods which paralysed the Belgian network in mid-2021, and explains how the infrastructure manager has started to adapt its operations and harden its assets to cope with the impact of extreme weather.
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NewsTraffic boost envisaged in Belgian operating contracts
BELGIUM: Final negotiations over the next 10-year operating contracts for state-owned passenger operator SNCB and national infrastructure manager Infrabel are expected to start in the coming weeks, following the publication of draft versions for consultation. According to federal Minister of Mobility Georges Gilkinet, rail needs to ...
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In depthBenelux: Faster timings in prospect with ICNG fleet
Part of the fleet of Intercity New Generation trainsets now being tested by Netherlands Railways is destined to replace the locomotive-hauled ICRm sets currently in use on Amsterdam – Brussels services via HSL-Zuid, trimming up to 40 min off the journey. The rest of the 200 km/h fleet will be deployed on domestic routes.
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NewsSunweb and European Sleeper plan holiday trains to the Alps and coast
EUROPE: Dutch package holiday company Sunweb Group and night train start-up European Sleeper have announced a partnership to offer overnight trains from the Netherlands and Belgium to tourist destinations in France. The companies said their aim is to make ‘sustainable and relaxed’ rail travel more attractive ...
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Metro Report InternationalCross-border tram-train project scrapped
EUROPE: After many years of discussion and planning, the government of the Belgian region of Vlaanderen has decided not to go ahead with plans to for a tram-train service running from Hasselt across the Dutch border to Maastricht. The route would have been around 30 km ...
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NewsIzy low-cost train services to end
EUROPE: The Izy-branded low cost train service between Paris Nord and Brussels Midi is to end on July 10, Thalys has announced. Launched by Thalys in 2016, Izy services use the conventional line from Paris to Arras and then LGV Nord and Belgium’s LGV1 from Arras ...
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NewsEurostar Group formed as holding company for Eurostar and Thalys
EUROPE: Eurostar Group has been established as the holding company for international high speed train operators Eurostar and Thalys, and the shareholders have announced their ambition for the combined services to carry 30 million passengers/year within 10 years, compared to 18 million in 2019. ...
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NewsFunds committed to North Sea Port rail access route
EUROPE: The Dutch cabinet is to make available €105m from the National Growth Fund towards the Rail Gent Terneuzen project to improve access to North Sea Port, the 60 km area on the Western Scheldt between Vlissingen in the Netherlands and the Belgian city of Gent ...
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NewsAirline to transfer more passengers to high speed rail
EUROPE: KLM Royal Dutch Airlines and Thalys have agreed to develop their joint AirRail product to further increase the number of air passengers who use high speed trains to travel between Brussels and Amsterdam Schiphol airport. KLM already offers air passengers the option of using Thalys ...
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NewsMerger approval ‘should ensure the rebound and growth ambitions of Thalys and Eurostar’, says SNCF
EUROPE: The European Commission has approved the planned merger of cross-border high speed train operators Thalys and Eurostar. SNCF Voyageurs told Railway Gazette International the merger ‘should ensure the rebound and growth ambitions of Thalys and Eurostar.’ Announcing its decision on March 29, the Commission said ...
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NewsRail freight operator introduces energy surcharge and expects others will follow
BELGIUM: Freight operator Lineas has announced the introduction of a dynamic energy surcharge from April 1, saying this will be a first for the rail sector and it anticipates that other operators will follow. Lineas said such surcharges are common for other modes. ‘We cannot continue ...
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Metro Report InternationalTransurb launches mixed reality compact driving simulator
BELGIUM: Transurb has launched a compact Nano Simulator for tram driver training which uses mixed reality functionality to replicate the immersive training experience traditionally found in a full-cab simulator. The company has been developing portable simulators for light rail and tram customers for many years, but ...
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NewsPauwels steps down after Lineas losses
BELGIUM: Geert Pauwels has announced his resignation as Chief Executive Officer of independent rail freight operator Lineas ‘with immediate effect’ from February 3. Pauwels had led the former SNCB Logistics business since it was established in 2008, steering the company through the ...
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NewsFramework contract agreed for 50 passenger locomotives
BELGIUM: National passenger operator SNCB has awarded Alstom a framework contract for the supply of up to 50 third-generation Traxx electric locomotives, with a €120m firm order for an initial 24 to be delivered from 2026. The 200 km/h locomotives are be used on domestic and cross-border ...
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NewsDouble-deck coach order
BELGIUM: National operator SNCB has ordered a further 98 double-deck M7 multi-function coaches from Alstom at a cost of €268m. Intended to meet projected growth in ridership, the order has been placed within a framework contract signed in 2015 which provides for the supply of up ...
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NewsSiemens to retrofit SNCB fleet for ETCS Level 2 operation
BELGIUM: National passenger operator SNCB has selected Siemens Mobility to upgrade the ETCS onboard equipment on selected electric multiple-units and push-pull driving trailers for Level 2 operation.
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NewsLineas divests locos and wagons in sale and leaseback agreements
BELGIUM: As part of efforts to strengthen its balance sheet, freight operator Lineas has reached a sale and leaseback agreement covering a portion of its rolling stock fleet.