Until 17 August, Belgian rail network operator Infrabel will be renewing 24 km of sleepers on the section between Hoegaarden and Pousset. The company is using a 700-meter-long mega work train for this to replace around 40,000 sleepers.
This Austrian work train, weighing 1,600 tons, travels across Europe to undertake massive construction projects. This is only the third time the train has been used on the Belgian rail network. The works are part of the large-scale renovation of the Leuven-Liège high-speed line, which is used by approximately 80 trains daily, with 30% of these trains being international.
3,600 sleepers per day
The Swietelsky work train spreads the rail apart, lifts the concrete sleepers, and sucks up the ballast to filter it. In a single fluid movement, the train levels and prepares the ground so that it can lay the new sleepers, as the old ones had cracks in the concrete, and spread the cleaned ballast. The rails are then replaced.
This work train can renew 2 km of track or 3,600 sleepers per day. A total of around 40 people, four cranes, two locomotives, 40 wagons, and various construction machines will be working around the clock on the site to lay the track in the correct position and seal the layer beneath it.
€59 million investment
The first phase of work on the Leuven-Liège high-speed line, the second-oldest high-speed line in the Belgian high-speed network, is scheduled to run from 2025 to 2026. Work will be carried out in shifts around the clock for 16 days and nights. The second phase will run from 2028 to 2031. The total investment amounts to €59 million.
The timetable between Leuven, Landen, and Liège-Guillemins has been adjusted until 17 August due to the works. Some connections will be diverted, and there will be fewer trains between Leuven and Liège on weekdays.
There will also be fewer trains stopping in Tienen and Landen. At weekends, IC trains between Leuven and Liège will also take 25 minutes longer to complete the journey.
Also works on the Brussels-French border high-speed line
Infrabel is also continuing to renovate the Brussels-French border high-speed line this summer. Between 16 and 31 August, train traffic will be interrupted between Halle and Silly for the replacement of rails, sleepers, and ballast on this 16 km section of track. Two switches will be renewed. Trains will be diverted, with an additional travel time of approximately 15 minutes.
