France‘s national train operator SNCF Voyageurs has submitted an application to the French transport authority to start driving between Brussels and Paris with Belgian rolling stock from December 2024, Treinreiziger.nl reports.

A slower, but cheaper connection between the to capitals than Thalys, soon to be Eurostar.

The French railways want to run five times a day between Paris-North and Brussels-North and vice versa, with stops in Creil, some 30 kilometers north of Paris, and Aulnoye-Aymeries, which is close to the Belgian border. 

In Belgium, stops are planned in Mons (Bergen) and Brussels-South/Midi, Brussels-Central and Brussels-North. 

The journey would take some three hours, using rolling stock from NMBS / SNCB. Which? Class 18/19 locomotives and type I11 and I10 carriages.

A Thalys journey between Paris-Nord and Brussel-Zuid / Bruxelles-Midi takes 1h22. 

Proposed timetable

Trains would depart at Brussels-South/Midi at 6:52, 9:40, 13:40, 15:40 and 18:40; to arrive in Paris at 10:02, 12:32, 16:42, 18:42 and 21:32. 

In the other directions, trains would leave Paris at 08:18, 10:18, 12:28, 15:31 and 19:21; to arrive in Brussels at 11:19, 13:19, 15:19, 18:19 and 22:19. So the travel time will differ depending on the time of day. 

Competition

The request comes at a time when many rail operators are applying for international train paths in the first place, notes Treinreiziger. 

“This has to do with the open access to national and international train connections, which has been established by European policy since 1 January 2019. Flixtrain, among others, previously preyed on the Brussels – Paris connection, but now seems to be abandoning it due to high prices for the use of French rail. SNCF may now still be preparing for the sought-after connection between the French and Belgian capital by submitting an application to the French transport authority.”

600 to 700 travellers

The dossier as it is now presented can accommodate 600 to 700 passengers, which amounts to approximately eight carriages. There are I10 carriages with space for bicycles, so it is possible that the two-wheeler can also be taken to France. 

Nothing is yet known about restoration or catering during the three-hour journey.

I-series rolling stock

Will there be enough I10 and I11 rolling stock? For a long while now, these haven’t really been used to go outside Belgium, except to go to Luxembourg. But a ‘slow’ Benelux series alongside the fast ICNG-stocked ‘fast’ Benelux series would also consist of I10 and I11 cars. And sometimes they’re used for charter trains, such as trains to bring football fans to a Netherlands – Belgium match or chartered Tomorrowland trains.

Maybe the old but refurbished I6 carriages will get another reprieve? 

Ouigo

Last year, SNCF already showed that they wanted to train to Brussels with their cheap(er) Ouigo TGVs, but no progress has yet been seen in those plans. Ouigo Vitesse Classique (VC) is another low-cost SNCF brand currently running between Paris and Nantes and Lyon. The French Railways recently applied for a new Ouigo VC connection between Paris and Bordeaux so the registered train to Brussels may also fall under this concept.

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