Belgian railway line 25
The railway connects the Brussels-Antwerp Brussels agglomeration via Vilvoorde and Mechelen with the country's largest city, Antwerp. The 47.6 km long path consists of each double-track lines 25 and 27 and is part of the international connection from Brussels to Amsterdam and historically the first railway on the European mainland.
History
The line from Brussels to Mechelen railway line was opened in 1835. She was ( to Saint -Etienne -Lyon and Roanne - Andrézieux ) the third steam railway on the European continent and probably the first, which not only freight trains but also timetabled passenger trains were pulled by steam.
On May 5, 1835 left in the presence of the Belgian King Leopold I and George Stephenson three trains with 900 passengers, the then station Brussel-Groendreef/Bruxelles Allée Verte and reached in 45 to 55 minutes the Mechelen train station. The trains were then transported from the right British steam locomotives, called L' ELEPHANT ( " The Elephant ", type 1B, built by Tayleur & Co.), LE Fleche ( " The Arrow " ) and STEPHENSON (both type 1B1, built by Robert Stephenson & Co.), as Great Britain at that time was the only country where market-ready locomotives were manufactured. On the return trip L' ELEPHANT pulled all three traits ( coupled together ) alone.
From the year 1835/36 wrong on this route, the first steam locomotive manufactured in Belgium, called LE BELGE ( " The Belgian " ), built by John Cockerill in Belgium.
A year after the opening, on May 3, 1836, Mechelen line was the Antwerp train station Borgerhout ( there is now the main railway station Antwerpen-Centraal ) extended. On September 26, 1841 distance from the train station Brussels - Allée Verte / Groendreef was extended to today's North Station.
Mechelen has quickly become a hub of the emerging railway network: trains could run from here in all directions. Southward to Brussels and France, northwards to Antwerp, westward to Oostende (via Dendermonde, Ghent and Bruges ) and eastward to Leuven, Liege and Verviers, from 1843 to Cologne.
In the interwar period the railway line was electrified (3 kV) and at the same time made the Viergleisigkeit by another double-track railway line - the line 27 - has been built directly in parallel added. The Altstrecke kept the line number 25 in the vicinity of Mechelen, the line was 25 set higher, between Hove and Antwerpen-Berchem the tracks were laid in a trough. Was the connection to a high-speed line, a crossing-free connection between Brussel -Noord and Antwerpen-Centraal These measures. Exactly 100 years after the first train ride, on May 5, 1935, the first electric train with King Leopold III on board on this route went below 3000 volts. The train moved at a speed of 120 km / h and covered the distance in 31 minutes stop in Mechelen back.
The line 25 was extended for 160 km / h. In an extension for high -speed traffic was due to the dense development and thus waived associated high costs and foreseeable resistors from the population. The available investment funds were used on a rebuilding the railway station Antwerpen Centraal from a head - on through station.
On 25 March 2007, the North -South connection was officially opened at Antwerp. This tunnel route connects the existing terminal station Antwerpen-Centraal railway station with the Antwerp - Luchtbal where connection is made to the track to Roosendaal and the high-speed line Antwerp - Schiphol.
Operation
Since 10 June 2012, a new, direct link between Antwerp and Mechelen to Brussels Airport as part of the Diabolo project in operation, the travel time from Mechelen to the airport was shortened by from 40 to eight minutes. In addition, a new route 25N to relieve the existing railway line Brussels - Antwerp opened, of which branches the route to the airport. The route 25N was partly built on the median strip of the highway 1, for which parts of the White children forest had to be cleared.
Today, most passenger trains to use the line 25 All freight trains travel the line 27, also a few passenger trains. On two ten -kilometer section of line 25 120 km / h are allowed, the rest can be 130 or 140 km / h. The maximum permissible speed of the line 27 is 120 km / h
You can switch between the two routes in Brussels, Vilvoorde, Mechelen and Antwerp Kontich.
Train
In the year 2012 timetable following trains:
Daily
During the week
On the weekend