From 9 June 2024, Arriva‘s Tri-Country Train will connect Liège (Luik, Lüttich) in Belgium in to Maastricht in the Netherlands and Aachen (Aken, Aix-la-Chapelle) in Germany, after years of preparation. Contrary to previous announcements, the Dutch OV-chipkaart or public transport chip card will not be accepted as a valid ticket on the Belgian leg of the journey, Treinreiziger.nl reports. At least for now.

The Tri-Country Train has been a ‘procession of Echternach‘ (to drag Luxembourg into this story). Six years ago, the Tri-Country Train started to commute between just two of the three countries, namely between Maastricht and Aachen, and now, after years of preparation, the triptych is finally being fulfilled with Liège.

Complicated

This was accompanied by a real rail war, during which problems surrounding train security, overhead line voltage and licenses on the Belgian railways were overcome. 

However, one problem has not yet been tackled: tickets. Because just as you can now go to Aachen with an OV-chipkaart, you will not be able to do so in Belgium from 9 June. An OV-chipkaart is a prepaid payment card for (almost?) all public transport in the Netherlands. Comparable to the Oyster Card in London. You tap in and out, and the right amount will be deducted of your prepaid tally. 

Arriva offers the Euregio ticket as a solution on its website, but for shorter journeys the situation is a lot more complicated. For example, between Liège and Visé (Wezet) you can buy your ticket from NMBS / SNCB, between Eijsden and Maastricht again from the Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS) and between Maastricht and Aachen your public transport chip card or Arriva ticket is valid.

Solution

Arriva tells Treinreizen.nl that it is working hard on a solution.

 Eijsden will be the first to have an Arriva check-in post, “so that people do not have to check in before traveling within the Netherlands with the Tri-Country Train”. 

According to Arriva, the biggest problem lies in the technical structure behind the existing ticket systems. “These are not designed to work with foreign fa res or new rate systems.”

In addition, the Belgian part of the Three-Country Train falls under the authority of the NMBS / SNCB, with the additional fares. “It is the aim of the collaborating carriers NS, NMBS / SNCB and Arriva to gradually further develop the range of products on the route of the Tri-Country Train for the various target groups.”

So now?

It is not yet known when traveling with the OV-chipkaart to Belgium will be possible. Arriva does say that it is committed to this possibility, “because from a traveler’s perspective it is always desirable to travel easily in international train traffic with the well-known carriers with which you also travel domestically.”

In the meantime individual tickets are available for single journeys over the entire route. The Euregio ticket is also valid on the entire route, just like on other trains and buses in the border region. 

For the time being, you can buy a separate ticket from NMBS / SNCB between Liège and Visé, between Eijsden and Maastricht you check in with NS as usual and for Maastricht-Heerlen-Aachen the situation remains the same: check-in with Arriva is possible in both the Netherlands and Germany.

Roosendaal

On the other local train border crossing, between Roosendaal in North Brabant and Essen in the province of Antwerp, the OV-chipkaart is also not accepted and that will remain to be the case. The local train is operated by NMBS / SNCB. So no OV-chipkaart, no tapping and out. 

To cross the border between Belgium and Netherlands by train, also on the Benelux intercity, you need to buy separate tickets. Belgian stations simply don’t have (Dutch) tap in and out facilities. 

As you are crossing an international border, you need to go to the ‘international’ tab on ticket vending machines or use the NMBS / SNCB International or NS International apps. Not the apps for the respective domestic trains. Both operators separate domestic and international travel, probably because integrating everything is too complicated.

Is it a hassle for travellers? Yes. But not insurmountable. 

Belgium seceded from the Netherlands in 1830. 

UPDATE 5 JUNE: Delay due to infrastructure damage

The planned start of the Tri-Country Train that connects Maastricht with Liège and Aachen cannot take place on Sunday 9 June. The cause is “significant damage to the infrastructure on the route between Visé and Eijsden as a result of recent thunderstorms”, reports Arriva, also on behalf of carriers NS and NMBS / SNCB.

Extreme rainfall caused parts of the track to flood, ballast under the rails was washed away, and level crossings and signals were damaged. The repair work has now been completed, but additional and necessary work still needs to be carried out “to protect the rail infrastructure in the event of future flooding”, the parties said.

They also underlined that they “deeply regret” that the start of the Tri-Country Train must, therefore, be postponed.

The new expectation is that the train service will commence on Sunday 30 June. With the Tri-Country Train, travellers can travel between Liège, Maastricht and Aachen without having to change trains.

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