The first passengers will be welcomed on board the highly anticipated 'Three Country Train' between Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany on Sunday 30 June. The train is expected to run once every hour.
After a six-month delay, the train connecting Liège-Guillemins with Dutch Maastricht and German Aachen will finally start running on Sunday. It was inaugurated in Liège on Wednesday with several key stakeholders boarding the vehicle for its first trip. But as of Sunday, it is accessible to the general public.
"This new direct train connection between Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany will link the cities of Liège, Maastricht and Aachen, among others," Belgian railway operator SNCB said. The cross-border connection is the result of a collaboration between the Belgian company and railway companies Arriva and NS.
Extending existing links
In Belgium, the 'three-country train' will stop in Liège-Guillemins, Bressoux and Wezet. In the Netherlands, apart from Maastricht, there are also stops in Eijsden, Meerssen, Valkenburg, Heerlen, Landgraaf and Eygelshoven Markt. In Germany, it will also stop in Herzogenrath.
Within this area, a large number of people travel across the border daily to move between the cities for leisure, education or work. A train already runs between Liège and Maastricht once an hour, while another travels between Maastricht and Germany twice an hour.
The new train links these two connections so that a transfer at Maastricht for passengers travelling the entire journey will be a thing of the past, facilitating cross-border train travel. "This new international connection extends the existing cross-border link," SNCB explained.
The Aachen-Maastricht part of the new connection was launched in early 2019. Belgium could not be served at that time because the Arriva trains had to be equipped with the European safety system ETCS, which monitors the maximum speed and distance.
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The deadline was set for the end of 2023 but this was pushed back to "the first half of 2024" due to "unforeseen, technical challenges" in making Arriva's trains suitable for the different security systems. Damage caused by flooding meant the start date for the three-country connection was further postponed to 30 June.
The entire Liège-Aachen route will take just under an hour and a half.
With just one train ticket, passengers can cross three countries. These can be bought on SNCB's sales channels (website, app, vending machines and ticket offices). "SNCB's usual tickets are valid for any destination on the three-country train, regardless of whether they are standard or reduced-fare tickets," the company noted.
