Railway traffic on the high-speed line connecting Brussels and France will be suspended from 12 August until 29 August, due to extensive renewal work. Some Eurostar train journeys will also be longer during this period.
"In recent years, the ageing of the line connecting Brussels to the Franco-Belgian border has become apparent,” reiterated Friday’s joint statement from Infrabel, the National Railway Company (SNCB), and Eurostar. At 27-years-old, Belgium’s oldest high-speed rail lines, needs a renovation. The Belgian railway infrastructure operator is planning multi-year works.
This summer, after the closing ceremony of the Paris Olympics, the first phase of these works commences.
Technical teams will, over 18 days and nights, completely renew one of the two tracks on a 17.6 km stretch, which falls on the municipal territory of Leuze-en-Hainaut and Brugelette. The works also foresee 35.2 km of new rails, around 30,000 new railway sleepers, and approximately 5,500 tonnes of ballast, with extensive maintenance works carried out in various places.
As a result, Eurostar trains to and from London will be rerouted along the regular line between Lille Europe and Brussels, adding 30 minutes to the journey time, according to Infrabel.
Eurostars running between Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam, and Cologne will be diverted between Brussels and the Franco-Belgian border along the classic line via Mons, adding about 30 minutes to the usual transit time.
To ensure smooth train traffic throughout these routing changes, SNCB’s service will be adapted on all affected routes, specifically impacting travel between Mons and Brussels, Ath and Mons as well as Mouscron and Brussels, concluded Infrabel.
