Benelux trains to be rebranded EuroCity Direct and EuroCity, allowing new market position

The train service between Brussels and Amsterdam which is nowadays known as ‘the Benelux‘ in Belgium, will be (re)named EuroCity Direct and EuroCity, the Dutch train enthusiasts website Treinreiziger.nl reports.

First a little bit of history. The Benelux Union or Benelux is a politico-economic union and formal international intergovernmental cooperation of three neighbouring states in Western Europe: the Kingdom of Belgium, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. The name is a portmanteau formed from joining the first few letters of each country’s name and was first used to name the customs agreement that initiated the union (signed in 1944).

It is now used more generally to refer to the geographic, economic, and cultural grouping of the three countries.

In September 1957, a then new train service between Amsterdam and Brussels started. As it was also the goal to continue to the City of Luxembourg (but that never happened), the service was coined ‘the Benelux train’. At least in Belgium. From Dutch perspective, the name Brusselaar is more common. From Belgian perspective you’ll sometimes hear or read Amsterdammer.

2025

From December 2024, there will be two direct trains from Brussels to the Nertherlands:

The fast service will only call at Brussels-South (Midi), Antwerp-Central, Rotterdam Central, Schiphol Airport, Amsterdam South, Almere Centre, Almere Outside (Buiten) and Lelystad Centre. This version will use the new ICNG-B EMUs bought by Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS) at Alstom.
The slow service will start (or finish) at Brussels-South, Brussels-Central, Brussels-North, Brussels Airport – Zaventem, Mechelen, Antwerp-Berchem, Antwerp-Central, Noorderkempen, Breda and Rotterdam-Central. The train will not continue to The Hague. It will be a push-pull train with coaches and a locomotive. Belgian NMBS / SNCB I11 (and I10?) cars and Traxx engines.

EuroCity Direct

NS International confirmed to Treinreiziger.nl the fast version will be called EuroCity Direct. There’s also already a Wikipedia page. The slow version will be called EuroCity without ‘Direct’.

The EuroCity Direct will not always have Lelystad as terminus. When not, Amsterdam South will.

The new train will soon run every hour and 16 times a day in total. From Lelystad, the train will also stop at the stations Almere Buiten and Almere Centrum.

The Intercity Brussels, which will soon be called EuroCity, will also continue to run and will also run sixteen times a day.

Market position

Calling the Benelux trains EuroCity and EuroCity and not Intercity as is common in the Netherlands, allows NS and NMBS / SNCB to market the trains differently.

The name EuroCity is common for international trains in Central Europe. It was recently revived in Belgium when NMBS / SNCB named its ‘slow’ train to Paris in France EuroCity. This special train for the Olympic Games will become a fixture in December 2024.

This EC Brussels-Paris is not accessible for domestic train journeys, for instance from Brussels to Mons (Bergen) and is only accessible with specific tickets. This also meant this EC was and will not be accessible for railway employees and their Benelux train pass.

Not for domestic journeys

We already know the EuroCity Direct wasn’t to be accessible for domestic journeys between Brussels and Antwerp.

Somehow we feel the EC and EC-D will also receive this special – restrictive – treatment and we fear railway employees will not be able to use their Benelux train pass.

Trip By Trip

Benelux trains to be rebranded EuroCity Direct and EuroCity, allowing new market position