Athus-Maas line

Namur – Arlon
Route number :	154 Namur – Dinant 165 Libramont – Athus 166 Dinant – Bertrix 167 Autelbas – Athus
Course book range :	154, 165, 166
Route length:	185 km
Gauge :	1435 mm ( standard gauge )
Power system :	(up to Dinant) 3 kV  =
Power system :	(from Dinant) 25 kV 50 Hz  ~
Legend from Brussels from Charleroi 0.0 Namur to Liege Meuse according to Libramont (see below) 3.0 Jambes 12.8 Profondeville 14.0 Lustin 17.0 Godinne formerly from Ciney 20.1 Yvoir Meuse formerly after Tamines 28.0 Dinant System change 3 kV / 25 kV 30.2 70.2 formerly to Givet (F) Meuse 68.0 Anseremme 63.0 Gendron-Celles 58.0 Houyet formerly after Jemelle 48.0 Beauraing 27.0 Think 18.6 Graide 15.0 Carlsbourg 12.0 Paliseul from Namur (see above) 81.9 Libramont 0.0 69.7 Bertrix to Arlon (see below) 49.4 Florenville von Harnoncourt, formerly Ecouviez (Fr) 24.7 Virton according to Marbehan 7.3 Halanzy 3.0 Aubange 1.9 Y Aubange SNCF Saint-Martin (Fr) Rodange (Lux) 1.0 Y Aubange CFL 0.0 10.3 Athus 6.6 Messancy from Libramont (see above) 135.8 Arlon 0.0 140.3 to Luxembourg

The Athus-Maas-Linie ( ligne Athus-Meuse or Athus-Maaslijn ), or its sections, connect the agglomeration of Namur on the Meuse (= Meuse) with the Belgian Ardennes towns of Dinant , Virton , Athus and Arlon . From these locations routes continue to France and Luxembourg .

Route description

Namur - Dinant

Dinant - Bertrix

Libramont - Bertrix - Arlon

From Namur to Dinant, the route follows the Meuse valley, whose breakthrough valley extends through the Ardennes from Charleville-Mézières to Namur and from Hastière to Belgian territory. Until the 1980s there was still a connection from Dinant through the Meuse valley to France. This route is out of service today. At the train station (Dinant-) Anseremme, the Athus-Meuse line leaves the valley after crossing the Meuse and leads over the mountain ranges of the Ardennes to Bertrix, where the Athus-Meuse line meets part of the route coming from Libramont. The connection now leads via Florenville and Virton to Aubange and Athus, where a line branches off to Rodange (Luxembourg). In Arlon, the line meets the Namur – Luxembourg line .

Operation and history

Emergence

The Namur – Dinant section was completed on February 5, 1862, and the Dinant – Givet (France) connection followed a year later .

The continuation in the Ardennes to Bertrix was laid out in stages between December 20, 1880 and October 20, 1899 and expanded to two tracks from 1910 to 1924.

The Libramont – Bertrix – Virton – Athus line was built between November 6, 1876 and August 21, 1882, and two-tracked from 1922 to 1927.

electrification

Electric trains (3 kV) have been able to reach Dinant since May 27, 1990 ( Intercity trains of the SNCB ). The Ardennes part of the Athus-Meuse line has also been electrified since December 15, 2002, but with French alternating voltage (25 kV).

Train traffic

On the Namur – Dinant section, which is electrified with 3 kV, the SNCB Intercity operates every hour, connecting Dinant with the Bruxelles-Midi / Brussel-Zuid station. The range is reinforced by InterRegio and P trains, as well as IC-Ts (tourist-oriented InterCity) in the summer months. AM80 Break railcars are used in InterCity and InterRegio traffic, while NMBS / SNCB series 41 railcars are used for P-train traffic and IC-T service .

On the part of the Ardennes with a 25 kV overhead line, Desiro Mainline electric multiple units are used in addition to freight locomotives for passenger transport .

Several regional train lines run every two hours in the Ardennes:

• L-Trein: Libramont - Bertrix - Beauraing - Dinant
  • turns heads in Bertrix
• L-Trein: Libramont - Bertrix - Virton - Athus - Arlon
  • the Virton - Rodange - Arlon section is only used on working days. This line also served Rodange in Luxembourg until December 2012, where it changed direction.

By superimposing these two lines there is an hourly service in the Libramont - Bertrix part.

There are also additional CFL trains on weekdays :

• RB Athus - Rodange - Luxembourg

Individual evidence

1. ↑ [beluxtrains.net beluxtrains.net], query from June 28, 2013.

Web links

Commons : line 166  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Spoorlijn 154 in the Dutch Wikipedia
• Spoorlijn 166 in the Dutch Wikipedia
• Spoorlijn 165 in the Dutch Wikipedia
• Spoorlijn 167 in the Dutch Wikipedia