Brussels – Liège railway line
Brussels North Station - Liège-Guillemins | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Route number : | 36 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Route length: | 99.9 km | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Gauge : | 1435 mm ( standard gauge ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Power system : | 3 kV = | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Top speed: | 140 km / h | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Dual track : | continuous | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Operational sites and structures | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Brussels - Liège line (route 36) connects the Belgian cities of Brussels and Liège via Leuven and Tienen . The line is exactly 100 km long and is one of the oldest long-distance railway lines in Europe, it was opened in three sections from 1837 to 1842. The western section between Brussels and Leuven dates from 1866.
The new line 36N , opened in 2003, runs parallel to the old line between Brussels and Leuven, and the high-speed line HSL 2 (2003) between Leuven and Liège .
Line 36 was built by the Belgian state, the current operator is the infrastructure company Infrabel .
course
The Brussels-lion western section is expanded throughout four tracks and runs almost completely built-up area in the east of the city region Brussels. The middle section has a more rural character before finally reaching the densely built-up industrial region of Liège.
Brussels-Leuven (Brussels metropolitan area)
The route begins formally at Brussels North Station and initially follows, together with some other routes, from there northwards along the multi-track railway line towards Antwerp . This section is where the large Schaarbeek train station is located .
In the area of the Haren marshalling yard , which is connected here , route 36 runs out to the west with four tracks. Beyond the Haren-Süd station , route 26 , which runs in a ring through the east of Brussels, crosses , shortly afterwards the regional border between Brussels and Flanders .
After two further four-track stations ( Diegem and Zaventem ), the predominantly underground airport route 36C, which opens up the Brussels-Zaventem airport , leads north .
The five following train stations Nossegem, Kortenberg, Erps-Kwerps, Veltem and Herent are suburban stations similar to S-Bahn trains in Flemish communities on the outskirts of the city.
In the urban area of Leuven, the Löwen-Dijle Canal and the Dijle River are crossed. Lines 53 (from Mechelen ) and 35 (from Hasselt ) flow here from the north . After passing through the depot where the large Stella Artois brewery is located, you will reach the Löwen train station .
Lion Voroux
To the south of Löwen train station, route 139 branches off to Ottignies , shortly afterwards the HSL 2 high-speed route , which, however, is not far away, but also runs along the A3 motorway in the direction of Liège and rejoins the old route a few kilometers before the destination.
The now double-track line has only one intermediate station (Vertrijk) to Tienen station , four more were closed in 1984. The town of Tienen with 33,000 inhabitants has the oldest surviving station building in Belgium (built in 1842) and was the terminus of the line 22 (to Diest ) and line 142 (to Namur ), which were closed in 1958 and 1960 respectively.
After two more intermediate stations, you will reach the small town of Landen , which used to be a real railway junction, as three routes branched off from the main route here:
- Route 21 to Hasselt , this route is still in operation
- Route 127 to Huy , closed in 1963
- Line 147 , to Tamines , closed in 1981.
This is followed by three more stations, which were closed in 1984, the regional border with Wallonia , and the A3 motorway including the high-speed line, which change over a bridge to the north side of the old line. The first train station on Walloon territory is located in the small town of Waremme .
After four more intermediate stations, on the western edge of the Liège agglomeration, the Voroux marshalling yard , closed in 1990 , is now only a stop for passenger traffic.
In Liège
Directly at the former east exit of the marshalling yard, the Liège freight bypass (route 36A) , which opened in 1939, branches off to the south, carrying heavy freight trains around the city center and the downhill section near Ans to the large Kinkempois marshalling yard on the south bank of the Meuse .
At practically the same height, the HSL 2 high-speed line joins the old route again from the other side. Both lines run parallel to each other on four tracks as far as Ans train station ; to the west of this the line continues on two tracks and is shared by the high-speed trains. Ans used to be an important transfer hub, where routes 31 (to Liers ) and 32 (to Flémalle ) branched off , which were closed in 1996 and 1992, as well as the regional tram to Oreye , which was closed in 1959, and the Liège urban tram .
The last six kilometers to Guillemins station , which functions as a central station , has a steep gradient (3%), which previously meant that a second locomotive was required as a push locomotive to transport heavy goods trains. Shortly before reaching the station, route 34 from Hasselt, which is important for Liège city traffic, joins it, which passes under the Brussels route in the tunnel and comes to light just before the station.
Important train stations
The Brussels-North, Leuven and Liège-Guillemins train stations also serve the parallel high-speed line from Brussels to Cologne. Tienen, Landen and Ans are (former) junctions for regional traffic.
history
The first section of this route was opened in 1837 between Löwen and Tienen. Half a year later, the eastern extension to Ans followed. As early as 1842 the line was double-tracked and extended to Liège. The section from Leuven to Brussels did not follow until 1866. The client was the Kingdom of Belgium, so it was a state railway line from the start.
The steep incline from Liège to Ans was too steep for the locomotives of the time. That is why the trains were pulled up the mountain using a cable that was driven by a stationary steam engine in the Haut-Pré district. Cable operation ended for passenger trains in 1866 and for freight trains in 1872.
Cable operation was then replaced by push-pull locomotives, which were stationed at Guillemins station. They were not coupled to the train to be pushed. When they reached the top of Ans, they slowed down and the train went on alone.
In connection with the construction of the Brussels inner city tunnel , the old north station was demolished and replaced by a through station opened in 1952.
The Brussels-Leuven section was electrified by 1954, followed by Leuven-Liège in 1955.
In 1984, numerous intermediate stations along the route were closed.
At the turn of the millennium, this busy route was doubled in capacity. In the greater Brussels area (to Leuven), the existing line was expanded to four tracks to separate high-speed and local traffic. The two middle tracks (referred to as route 36N) can be used by express trains at speeds of up to 200 km / h, the two outer tracks are used by regional trains. East of Löwen the express trains have their own new line ( HSL 2 ). Only the downhill section from Ans to Lüttich-Guillemins is still two-pronged and serves both types of transport together.
In 1997, the first Thalys high-speed trains (Paris-Brussels-Cologne) ran on the old route, and the Brussels-Cologne-Frankfurt ICE, which has been in service since 2009, was able to use the new line from the start.
The Liege-Guillemins railway station was completely rebuilt for the high speed rail and moved south. The new building was opened in 2009.
The local transport stations between Brussels-North and Leuven are to be used in the future by the planned Brussels S-Bahn .
The line was the first existing line to be equipped with ETCS and put into operation on March 1, 2012. This was the first time that ETCS Level 1 was used in Belgium.
business
Long-distance traffic ( Thalys Paris-Cologne and ICE International Brussels-Frankfurt) runs today on the new HSL 2 line , between Brussels and Leuven on the two middle tracks designated as route 36N.
In regional traffic, several intercity lines run over the route:
- IC A: Oostende-Eupen (entire route)
- IC E: Blankenberge-Tongeren (Brussels-Leuven)
- IC F: Quiévrain-Liège (entire route)
- IC K: Gent-Genk (Brussels-Landen)
- IC O: Brussels-Wezet (entire route)
- IC Q: Antwerp-Landen (Nossegem-Landen)
There are also local trains (L-treinen) and the CityRail S-Bahn advance traffic in the Brussels area.
Web links
- Data and pictures for route 36 (French)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Appendices C.04 and E.1 of the Infrabel Terms of Use ( Memento of October 15, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Google Maps
- ^ First Belgian conventional line equipped with ETCS. (No longer available online.) In: Rail Journal. March 5, 2012, archived from the original on March 31, 2012 ; Retrieved July 20, 2013 .