In three years, demand for train paths for international services in Belgium has almost doubled, De Standaard noticed. This is increasing pressure on the Belgian rail network, where more and more sections are being declared saturated, and it is also affecting the availability of domestic train services.
Tag: Nederlandse Spoorwegen
FLIXTRAIN | New Talgo high-speed fleet confined to Germany, European ambitions dropped
Seven months after heralding “a new era of train travel in Germany and Europe“, FlixTrain has reversed course. The company has confirmed that its €2.4 billion order of 65 new high-speed trains will now be deployed exclusively within Germany, abandoning earlier plans to use the fleet for international services. The German privateer announced its plans…
GoVolta re-emerges to offer train services from Amsterdam to Hamburg and to Berlin using Belgian I10 carriages
A re-emerging GoVolta will launch its first international train services to Berlin and Hamburg in Germany on 19 March 2026. From that date, the company will run three weekly services between Amsterdam in the Netherlands and Berlin, and three weekly services between Amsterdam and Hamburg.
NS buys 36 new Stadler Flirt Flex trains for local, intercity, and international services
The Nederlandse Spoorwegen or NS, the Netherlands‘ state railway, ordered 36 new Stadler Flirt Flex, Sprinter in NS terminology, trains for over €400 million. Unlike the current Sprinter trains, the ultramodern trains, named Flirt Flex, will once again have the classic yellow-blue NS livery. The first trains are expected to enter Dutch service in 2030.
Leo Express and Arenaways plan direct train between Prague and Venice
The Czech railway company Leo Express, in cooperation with the Italian carrier Arenaways, is planning a new direct rail connection between Prague in Czechia and Venice in Italy.
Flixtrain wants to run trains in the Netherlands
FlixTrain is preparing to launch direct services in the Netherlands, according to Flix chief executive André Schwämmlein, RailTech reports. Flixtrain is currently active in Germany.
27 SEPTEMBER 2025 | Farewell Tour for ‘Benelux’ Intercityrijtuig (ICR) coaches in the Netherlands and Belgium
On Saturday 27 September 2025, a special heritage train will operate across the Netherlands and Belgium to mark the approaching withdrawal of the last Intercityrijtuig (ICR) coaches from regular service.
SICILY | Catania
March 2025. We’re embarking on a train trip to Sicily. We fly from Brussels Airport to Leonardo da Vinci Rome Fiumicino Airport with ITA Airways. Then we take an Intercity Notte sleeper train by Trenitalia from Roma Termini Railway Station across Italy to Syracuse. Yes, the train is loaded on a ferry to cross the…
BELGIUM | NMBS / SNCB confirms CAF as preferred bidder for AM30
On 23 July 2025, Belgium‘s state-owned railway company NMBS / SNCB has reaffirmed Spanish train manufacturer Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles (CAF) as the “preferred bidder” for its major train order, despite ongoing criticism from trade unions and politicians over the impact on local employment.
TRAINS IN LUXEMBOURG | CFL’s Alstom Coradia Stream HC ‘Série 2400’
We haven’t travelled to the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg since 2018 and 2019, but in January 2025 we returned to get a taste of the Alstom Coradia Stream HC which the Société Nationale des Chemins de Fer Luxembourgeois (CFL) runs under the name Série 2400. The Coradia Stream HC was a candidate to become NMBS…