Namur – Luxembourg railway line
Namur – Luxembourg | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Route number : | 162 (Infrabel), 5 (CFL) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Course book range : | 162 (SNCB), 50 (CFL) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Route length: | 165.6 km | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Gauge : | 1435 mm ( standard gauge ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Power system : | 3 kV (Belgian part) = | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Power system : | 25 kV 50 Hz (Luxembourg part) ~ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Top speed: | 130 km / h | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Namur – Luxembourg railway connects Namur and its agglomeration on the Meuse and Sambre with the Belgian Ardennes towns of Ciney , Libramont and Arlon and continues via Kleinbettingen to Luxembourg . The double-track main line, together with the Brussels – Namur line, is part of the international Brussels – Luxembourg connection. As part of the EU transport project Eurocaprail , both routes are being expanded for journeys with a maximum speed of 160 km / h.
Nationwide, these two railway lines are together part of a north-west-south-east axis from Belgium and the Netherlands in the north via the SaarLorLux region to Switzerland and Italy in the south.
Route description
The route leaves the Meuse valley in Namur. In the northern part it is mostly on watersheds and only crosses one river valley, that of the Bocq . From Jemelle it follows the Lomme through its initially deep valley upstream and then a tributary to the watershed at Libramont. From there it slides into the basin of the Semois , but was only brought up to the river itself in its headwaters near Arlon . From Arlon to the east, it is built through high valleys near the watershed between Sauer and Semois and reaches the city of Luxembourg like three of four railway lines on one of the ridges between two streams.
Since the altitude in the Ardennes is only wavy and the upper reaches of the rivers are not deeply cut, the construction of tunnels could be dispensed with, which reduced the construction costs. For this, however, gradients of up to 16 per mille were accepted, e.g. B. in the section between Namur and Courrière or in the section between Jemelle and Libramont.
Operation and history
The line was built by Compagnie Grande Luxembourg . On May 15, 1858, the Namur – Ciney section was completed; A few months later (July 17, 1858) the Ciney – Grupont connection followed, and since October 27, 1858 it has been possible to travel to Arlon by train. On September 14, 1859, the connection between Arlon and the border with Luxembourg was opened.
In 1873, after the Compagnie Grande Luxembourg was taken over by the SNCB , the line was expanded to two tracks. Since September 30, 1956, the line has been continuously electrified with 3 kV direct current. On September 17, 2018, the Luxembourg route section between Kleinbettingen and Luxembourg City was switched to the usual electricity system of 25 kV 50 Hz alternating current in Luxembourg during an eight-week route closure. The conversion of the Belgian section is under construction.
Train connections
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EuroCity
- 90/91 Vauban : Brussels - Namur - Arlon - Luxembourg - Metz - Strasbourg - Mulhouse - Basel - Zurich (from Brussels on to Chur )
- 96/97 Iris : Brussels - Namur - Arlon - Luxembourg - Metz - Strasbourg - Mulhouse - Basel - Zurich (in the direction of Brussels from Chur)
- 295/296 Jean Monnet : Brussels - Namur - Arlon - Luxembourg - Metz - Strasbourg - Mulhouse - Basel
- Etoile d'Europe : Brussels - Namur - Luxembourg - Strasbourg
- Grand – Ducal : Brussels - Namur - Luxembourg - Strasbourg
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Intercity ( J , every hour):
- Brussels - Namur - Luxembourg
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L-Trein :
- Namur - Ciney
- Ciney - Libramont
- Libramont - Arlon
Web links
- NAMUR - ARLON - LUXEMBOURG. Route data for line 162. In: SNCB main routes. Archived from the original on May 16, 2008 ; Retrieved December 9, 2013 (nL / GB / F).
- Ligne 162: Namur - Frontière luxembourgeoise Belgian website (French) by David De Neef
- 2007-BE-28050-P. Euro Cap Rail on the Brussels-Luxembourg-Strasbourg railway axis. Trans-European Transport Network Executive Agency , 2012, accessed 9 December 2013 (in English, website on Belgian section).
Individual evidence
- ↑ CFL - Les travaux 2018 dans les grandes lignes Le Quotidien.lu, January 8, 2018 (French)