The Kingdom of Belgium and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg request the European Union to help fund better cross-border rail connections between the two neighbouring countries.
Belgian Minister of Mobility George Gilkinet (Ecolo) hosted Luxembourgish Minister of Defense, Minister for Mobility & Public Works, Minister for Gender Equality & Diversity Yuriko Backes (Democratic Party) for the first official bilateral meeting regarding mobility.
This meeting follows the signing of a letter of intent to strengthen rail cooperation between the two countries by Gilkinet and then Luxembourg’s Minister of Mobility François Bausch (The Greens) in October 2023.
Belgium and Luxembourg aim to bolster train connections between each other, as 45,000 people commute daily. It’s not uncommon for workers to live in ‘cheap’ Belgium and to work in better-paying Luxembourg.
Letter of intent
What do the excellencies want?
- “A new fast train between Brussels and Luxembourg City, accelerating the modernization work on Axis 3. To quickly and efficiently connect our two capitals, we have also sent a joint appeal to the European Commission with a view to obtaining support financial support for the completion of this work”, Minister Gilkinet says on LinkedIn.
- Doubled frequencies on the existing IC link, where brand new M7 cars have just arrived.
- A direct connection between Luxembourg and Libramont, which will eventually run twice per hour and without commuters having to change trains.
This pledge has the support of the Belgian national railway company NMBS / SNCB and Luxembourg’s operator Société Nationale des Chemins de Fer Luxembourgeois (CFL)
European money
The ongoing modernisation initiative for the Brussels-Luxembourg railway axis is a project within the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) and the strategic North Sea – Mediterranean Sea corridor.
The ministers signed a letter of support, appealing for financial aid from the European Commission under the Connecting Europe Facility programme. This EU funding mechanism aims to direct investments into European transport, energy, and digital infrastructures to address gaps and bottlenecks.
Axis 3
“Axis 3 links Brussels to the border with the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. It consists of railway lines 161 (Ottignies – Namur) and 162 (Namur-border) and has a total length of 175 km on Belgian territory. Its route is winding, with more than 150 curves. This explains the relatively low reference speed (130 km/h) and the presence of numerous low-speed traffic zones”, TUC Rail says.
“This major upgrade project will raise the reference speed to 160 km/h, improve the link between Brussels, Luxembourg and Strasbourg and thus reduce road traffic between Belgium and Luxembourg.”
Brussels, Luxembourg and Strasbourg in France are host cities of European institutions. A good link between them is imperative.
Geography
Currently, the IC 21XX between Brussels-Midi/South and Luxembourg takes 3 hours and 16 minutes. This train calls many stations in between:
- Brussels-Central.
- Brussels-North.
- Brussels-Schuman.
- Brussels-Luxembourg (yes it is funny the Brussels – Luxembourg train stops at Brussels-Luxembourg Railway Station).
- Ottignies.
- Gembloux.
- Namur.
- Ciney.
- Marloie.
- Rochefort-Jemelle.
- Libramont.
- Marbehan.
- Arlon.
Unfortunately, the geography of Wallonia and the Ardennes prevent the building of a true high-speed line. But increasing the reference speed and cutting some stops should do the trick to decrease the journey time.
More on night trains and transcontinental train travel
- Slow(er) train from Brussels to Paris for 2024 Summer Olympics.
- GoVolta wants tourist trains from the Netherlands to Berlin, Paris and Basel and from Antwerp to Germany.
- Heuro wants to operate high speeds trains between Amsterdam, Antwerp, Brussels, Paris and London from 2028.
- Eurostar and five more train operators joined the European Agreement on Journey Continuation.
- ÖBB’s new Nightjet sleeper cars accommodate solo travellers with Mini Cabins.
- Trenitalia orders new Hitachi Frecciarossa trains suited for France, Belgium and the Netherlands.
- European Sleeper serving Dresden and Prague from 2024, targets Barcelona from 2025.
- Tri-Country Train between Maastricht, Liège and Aachen delayed until spring 2024.
- ÖBB’s Nightjet to connect Berlin to Brussels from December 2023.
- EUROCITY EC-8 | Basel to Cologne in SBB’s Panoramic Car.
- Trenitalia / FS confirms interest in connecting Spain to Brussels, Amsterdam and Berlin.
- Deutsche Bahn and Trenitalia want piece of Amsterdam – Brussels – Paris HST service via subsidiaries Arriva an Qbuzz.
- SNCF and NMBS / SNCB to link Paris to Brussels with ‘slow’ classic train in about 3 hours from December 2024.
- Sampling NS’ new train and future Benelux rolling stock ICNG.
- REVIEW | Trenitalia Frecciarossa 1000 Paris – Milan in Business Executive.
- RAIL TOUR OF EUROPE | How easy is touring Europe by train?.
- Eight train connections between the Netherlands and Belgium by 2030?.
- REVIEW | ÖBB Nightjet Amsterdam – Zurich night train.
- European Commission wants booking train tickets to be as easy as booking flights.
- GreenCityTrip launches new destinations for its chartered night trains: Copenhagen, Gothenburg, Malmö, Bologna, Firenze, Bolzano, Como, Salzburg, Linz.
- Nightjet Vienna/Innsbruck to Brussels, or how we got thrown off the train in Aachen.
- Why the expensive ÖBB Nightjet is really not that expensive.
- Reliving the era of the great railway journeys, travelling overnight on Nightjet.
- How we plan a big rail trip.
- Ticket Distribution: the failure of railways to sell themselves.
- To use night trains in Portugal and Spain or not?.
- Night trains in Europe.
- Low-cost, long-haul trains to conquer Europe?.
- Fly now before it’s taxed and consider using the train instead.
- MIDNIGHT TRAINS | Unified Rail Europe? Coping with rail network challenges.
- MIDNIGHT TRAINS | Choosing rolling stock is more than following national technical rules.
- Midnight Trains abandon United Kingdom, Germany, Denmark and Portugal to aim at Nice, Milan, Rome, Venice, Barcelona and Madrid.
A new use is being sought for the vacant space of Plopsa Station, located at the rear of Antwerp-Central Railway Station. Belgium‘s national train operator…
A new Europe-wide organisation aims to influence European Union rail policy and fix long-standing international rail problems. Independent rail campaigners have launched a new Europe-wide…
Private rail operator Snälltåget from Sweden is set to make a major push into international rail travel in 2026, unveiling in November 2025 a new…
FS Group / Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane / Trenitalia is moving forward with strategic investments to support its expanding international high-speed rail ambitions, including plans…
In January 2026, SNCF Voyageurs confirmed an additional order for 15 next-generation TGV M high-speed trains from Alstom, underlining its ambitions to expand further across…
The European Union should mandate ticket sharing and competitor display in upcoming law to make rail a more attractive and competitive option, Transport & Environment…
August 2025. We’re travelling to the Baltic States: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, and more specifically their respective capitals Tallinn, Riga and Vilnius. Are they interconnected…
Dutch private railway operator Arriva, which has been planning to launch open-access services between the Netherlands and Paris in France, via Brussels in Belgium, will…
Belgium’s federal Mobility Minister Jean-Luc Crucke (Les Engagés) wants to make a direct train connection between Belgium and Switzerland possible again, Gazet van Antwerpen and…
August 2025. We’re travelling to the Baltic States: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, and more specifically their respective capitals Tallinn, Riga and Vilnius. Are they interconnected…
Italy’s state-backed passenger operator Trenitalia, Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane (FS) has launched a new visual identity for its flagship high-speed brand Frecciarossa, linking the rebrand…
Italy’s state-backed passenger operator Trenitalia, Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane (FS) has launched a new visual identity for its flagship high-speed brand Frecciarossa, linking the rebrand to the next phase of its fleet renewal programme and to FS Group’s broader ambitions to expand across Europe.
The new logo and
The Belgian Federal Government is moving ahead with the installation of access gates in major railway stations, despite earlier opposition from passenger groups, unions, and the railway operator itself, Gazet van Antwerpen, Het Nieuwsblad and De Standaard report.
Frequent public transport users are expected to become accustomed to gates restricting
The Belgian Federal Government is moving ahead with the installation of access gates in major railway stations, despite earlier opposition from passenger groups, unions, and…
August 2025. We’re travelling to the Baltic States: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, and more specifically their respective capitals Tallinn, Riga and Vilnius. Are they interconnected…
Belgium and the Netherlands have taken a step towards improving cross-border rail connectivity, with a potential direct Brussels to Eindhoven train emerging as one of the most symbolic and politically significant projects in a newly signed joint declaration on rail cooperation.
The declaration was signed on 18 February 2026 in
Belgium and the Netherlands have taken a step towards improving cross-border rail connectivity, with a potential direct Brussels to Eindhoven train emerging as one of…
German passenger operator Deutsche Bahn (DB) confirmed to Belgian news agency Belga on Friday 20 February 2026 that it will introduce a new high-speed connection between Antwerp-Central Railway Station in Belgium and Cologne in Germany in September. The trains will also stop at Brussels Airport.
From September, a new ICE
German passenger operator Deutsche Bahn (DB) confirmed to Belgian news agency Belga on Friday 20 February 2026 that it will introduce a new high-speed connection…
August 2025. We’re travelling to the Baltic States: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, and more specifically their respective capitals Tallinn, Riga and Vilnius. Are they interconnected…
Trenitalia is accelerating towards 2030 with a major €2 billion investment programme aimed at strengthening its leadership in high-speed rail and transforming Italy’s passenger rail sector. Gianpiero Strisciuglio, Chief Executive Officer and General Manager of Trenitalia, outlined the strategy at the Forum Masseria Winter Edition, confirming the purchase of