Belgian railway line 162

The railway line Namur - Luxembourg Namur connects and its agglomeration on the Meuse and Sambre with the Belgian Ardennes places Ciney, Libramont and Arlon and leads via Kleinbettingen on to Luxembourg. The double-track main line, together with the railway line Brussels - Namur part of the international Brussels- Luxembourg. As part of the EU transport project Eurocaprail an expansion of both route for journeys performed with a Höchstgeschwindigheit of 160 km / h

Nationally, these two rail lines together form part of a northwest-southeast axis of Belgium and the Netherlands in the north of the SaarLorLux region in Switzerland and Italy in the south.

Route description

The route leaves the valley of the Meuse already in Namur. In the northern part it is guided primarily on watersheds and crosses only a river valley that the Bocq. From Jemelle it follows the Lomme by their first deep valley upriver and then a tributary to the watershed at Libramont. From there it passes into the basin of the Semois was introduced to the river itself but only in its headwaters at Arlon. From Arlon to the east it is built by high valleys near the watershed between Sauer and Semois and reached the city of Luxembourg as three out of four railway lines on a hill ridge between two streams.

Since the altitudes only wavy and the headwaters of the rivers are not cut deep in the Ardennes, was able to dispense with the construction of tunnels, which lessened the cost of construction. For this, however gradients of up to 16 per thousand were taken into account, such as in the section between Namur and Courrière or in the section between Jemelle and Libramont.

Operation and history

It was built to route through the " Compagnie Grande Luxembourg". On May 15, 1858 Section Namur Ciney was completed, a few months later (17 July 1858) was followed by the connection Ciney - Grupont and, since October 27, 1858, you can travel by train to Arlon. On September 14, 1859, the connection between Arlon and the border was opened to Luxembourg.

In 1873, following the acquisition of the " Compagnie Grande Luxembourg" by the SNCB, the line was expanded to double track. Since 30 September 1956, the route is electrified with 3 kV.

Train

  • Euro City 90/91 Vauban: Brussels - Namur - Arlon - Luxembourg - Metz - Strasbourg - Mulhouse - Basel - Zurich ( Brussels continue 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
  • Brussels - Namur - Luxembourg
  • Namur - Ciney
  • Ciney - Libramont
  • Libramont - Arlon
Namur railway station Meuse (river) Assesse Marche-en-Famenne Libramont-Chevigny Habay Steinfort Mamer Strassen, Luxembourg Luxembourg railway station Lomme (river)
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