September 10, 2024
After years of much excitement about the ‘hyperloop’, a science-fiction way of transporting people and goods at speeds above 1,000 km in vacuum tubes connecting cities envisioned by Elon Musk, it remained deafening quiet. However, Dutch Hardt Hyperloop, one of the pioneers, announced the first successful test of its hyperloop vehicle at the European Hyperloop […]
September 09, 2024
NMBS/SNCB’s Board of Directors unanimously approved the train offer for 2025 on Friday. This offer is less ambitious than anticipated, partly due to a staff shortage. Overall, the train offer increases by almost 2% (in a million train kilometers) compared to 2024. In addition, 220 trains that had been scaled down in 2022 due to […]
September 06, 2024
What so many commuters, young people, and weekend tourists were looking forward to is threatening to be a hefty blow to rail travelers and a PR thud for Belgian rail company NMBS/SNCB. After all, the public rail company wants to postpone the planned expansion of its offerings, which are scheduled for the end of this […]
August 30, 2024
As great was the joy a few weeks ago at the inauguration of the new streetcar in Liège, so great is the disappointment today among the advocates of a sustainable mobility policy for the Liège metropolis. After all, the new Walloon government has abandoned the project to extend the Liège tramway to Herstal and Seraing. […]
August 29, 2024
The Brussels public transport company MIVB/STIB has welcomed the first of 70 articulated, all-electric buses. De eCitaro buses will replace the last Euro 5 buses still in circulation, which, due to the tightening of the low emission zone (LEZ), may no longer be used from 2025. The Marly depot in Neder-Over-Heembeek is also being expanded […]
August 27, 2024
The Belgian public railroad company NMBS/SNCB will call for tenders this fall for the rollout of a large network of charging stations in its station car parks, reports the business newspaper De Tijd/L’Echo. The NMBS/SNCB charging station network is not extensive at the moment. The railroad company has 522 stations with parking facilities totaling 75,000 […]
August 26, 2024
Belgian public railroad company NMBS/SNCB aims to increase the number of passengers by 30% by 2032 compared to 2022. Back then, 227 million passengers were transported, so the number of passengers should reach 300 million by 2032. According to the newspaper Le Soir, NMBS/SNCB has launched an investigation into the suburban S-nets of Brussels, Antwerp, […]
August 21, 2024
“A historic day” is what Willy Demeyer, the socialist mayor of Liège, called yesterday the first return after nearly 60 years of the streetcar to the center of the Cité ardente for a first test. “This streetcar will revolutionize mobility, the environment, and the economy,” De Meyer said. On August 31st, 1964, the streetcar made […]
August 16, 2024
Complaining on social media about poor service? They know all about that at the Belgian public railroad company NMBS/SNCB, plagued as it is by the many delayed and canceled trains. Yet NMBS’s communication strategy on X, formerly Twitter, has significantly reduced the number of complaint tweets, according to the doctoral research of administrative scientist Steven […]
August 16, 2024
The extensive renovation works at the Central Station metro station in the heart of Brussels should be completed by the autumn of 2027. The works are thus on schedule. The metro station, one of the oldest in Belgium (1969), will receive a facelift, new spaces, and improved accessibility for people with reduced mobility. With 50,000 […]
August 08, 2024
Hansea, one of Belgium’s largest private bus companies, has ordered 181 more Lion’s City E buses from MAN to use for the Flemish public transport company De Lijn. Hansea already has 90 MAN e-buses in operation, bringing the total to 271 units, making it the largest zero-emission bus fleet in Belgium. Hansea specializes in all […]
August 02, 2024
Dutch Railways NS plans to cut 500 jobs at its headquarters in Utrecht through natural staff turnover to cut costs. Another saving measure is that the rail company is also investigating whether the refurbishment of trains can be scaled down. All measures together should lead to annual savings of 200 million euros. NS lost 109 […]
August 02, 2024
The Dutch electric city bus specialist is in big financial trouble after noting a €64.7 million loss in the first six months of 2024. The company struggles to build its e-buses on order, causing rifts with its customers, while investors also pull the plug. If more money is not found, the end is likely near. […]
July 29, 2024
The French railroad company SNCF announced repairs on the French TGV network following a large-scale attack on Friday. This attack involved arson on high-speed train cables and installations. SNFC says passengers will normally experience no further impact this week. The attack happened just hours before the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics. Eurostar trains from […]
July 24, 2024
From now on, season ticket holders of the Flemish public transport company De Lijn can register their boarding or transfer digitally. This means that bus or streetcar passengers who have registered their ride or transfer in advance on busy lines no longer have to queue to scan their MOBIB card with the driver. User surveys […]
July 19, 2024
Ursula von der Leyen, reappointed on Thursday by the European Parliament as president of the European Commission, wants to make train travel more accessible by creating a standard reservation system at the EU level. She said this in the political guidelines for the next legislature for 2024-2029, just before the vote for her reappointment. “We […]
July 18, 2024
Belgium will receive 47.9 million euros in European funding to modernize its railroad infrastructure between Brussels and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and to equip rolling stock with the ETCS safety system. This was announced by Federal Minister of Mobility Georges Gilkinet (Ecolo). The funds will come from the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) fund, a […]
July 17, 2024
Consumer organization Testaankoop/Test Achat (TA) and equal opportunities center Unia threaten a lawsuit against Belgian public railroad company NMBS/SNCB for “digital discrimination.” This is because some tickets can be purchased cheaper via the app than at the ticket counter and vending machines. Other tickets, in turn, are only available via the app. The two organizations […]
July 16, 2024
In the coming weeks, bicycle repair kiosks will be installed at some 30 NMBS/SNCB train stations in Belgium. These stands will allow cyclists to carry out minor repairs to their bikes themselves. The first stands have been installed at Duffel (Antwerp) and Enghien (Hainaut) stations. The stands are part of the NMBS/SNCB plan to make […]
July 15, 2024
The Belgian public railroad company NMBS/SNCB will stop the physical sale of tickets for international train travel in nine stations starting in October. These are Arlon, Eurpen, Ottignies, Brussels-Luxembourg, Antwerp-Berchem, Courtrai, Hasselt, Mechelen, and Ostend. NMBS/SNCB will concentrate on selling such international train tickets in 12 so-called ‘travel stores’. Specialized travel stores According to NMBS/SNCB […]
July 11, 2024
Belgian national railway company NMBS/SCNB’s train passengers were slightly less satisfied with the service in 2023 than the previous year, as shown in the company’s activity report. On average, passengers gave NMBS a score of 7,17 out of 10. In 2022, this was still 7,26 out of 10. This is a new way of calculating […]
July 11, 2024
French rail group Alstom has signed a €2,8 billion framework contract with German public transport company Hamburger Hochbahn. The contract includes the supply of 374 new metro trains for fully automated or semi-automated operation for Hamburg’s city metro. The DT6 metros will be produced at Alstom’s Salzgitter site in Germany starting in 2026. The first […]
July 03, 2024
European cities are still much better connected by air than by rail, according to research by Greenpeace. From Brussels, for example, 41 of the 44 cities studied can be reached by direct flight and only 11 by rail. Greenpeace analyzed 990 routes between 45 major European cities. Only 12% of those routes are served by […]
July 02, 2024
The Flemish public transport company De Lijn has served the first of the new e-buses from supplier VDL from its depot in Destelbergen, East Flanders. These are the first five of 24 e-buses from VDL to reinforce the electric fleet in the Ghent region. In the coming weeks and months, the Destelbergen depot will receive […]
July 01, 2024
The high-speed train, or TGV, between Brussels and France, will not run at its normal speed between 12 and 29 August. During that period, the HST will run on the conventional track up to the French border, which means the train will travel longer. Railway network operator Infrabel announced the renovation works on Belgium’s oldest […]
June 28, 2024
Belgian public transport operator NMBS/SNCB invests between 30 and 40 million euros a year in a facelift for its smaller stations until 2032. This will include investments in accessibility and signaling and an expansion of bicycle and car parking facilities. NMBS/SNCB has 555 stations, including 20 large ones, 80 medium ones, and 455 smaller ones. […]
June 27, 2024
The Liège-Maastricht-Aachen ‘three-country train’ was inaugurated in Liège on Wednesday. The train connects Liège-Guillemins with Dutch Maastricht and German Aachen. The connection will be open to the public from June 30. The new direct train is the result of a collaboration between Belgian public railway company NMBS/SNCB, Dutch transport company Arriva, and Dutch public railway […]
June 21, 2024
Flemish public transport operator De Lijn’s flex transport, vans on demand, is not operating efficiently. That’s according to the business newspaper De Tijd, based on figures the newspaper requested from De Lijn. According to the newspaper, 56% of all kilometers traveled have only the driver on board. In other words, minibusses drive around without passengers […]
June 19, 2024
Suppose you’re willing to pay €120 to €160 and not weigh nearly 100 kg. In that case, you can be one of the first to experience pure electric flying between the airports of Liege (Belgium), Maastricht (Netherlands), and Aachen (Germany) as a passenger in a Pipistrel Velis Electro, currently the only EASA-certified electric aircraft. The […]
June 18, 2024
The Ostend-Bruges airport will soon have the largest solar park in West Flanders and the second-largest park in Belgium. The 66,200 solar panels on the site, covering a total area of about 303,864 m2, the equivalent of 61 football fields, will produce almost 37,000 MWh of annual energy – much more than the airport can […]
June 18, 2024
The first French-built Mercedes eCitaro electric city bus rolled off the Ligny-en-Barrois production line in France after the model was initially only built in Mannheim, Germany. Daimler Truck has confirmed its dedication to the French plant with a €50 million investment between now and 2030. Until now, the Ligny-en-Barrois production facility in Lorraine, France, exclusively […]
June 18, 2024
Infrabel has pushed a new bicycle and pedestrian tunnel under the Leuven-Aarschot-Hasselt railway line in Langdorp. Final work on the tunnel still needs to be finished, but cyclists and pedestrians will be able to use it by the end of this year. This weekend, the tunnel was moved into place using a unique sliding system, […]
June 17, 2024
The SNCF will increase the supply of seats on the TGV or HST by 15% in France and 10% internationally over the next ten years. Thanks to an increase in Ouigo’s low-cost trains, the expansion of that offer is possible. The SNCF in France is under strong pressure because different companies will launch regional high-speed […]
June 17, 2024
The first new electric buses ordered by Brussels public transport operator MIVB/STIB from German manufacturer Daimler Buses will be in service from July. This is reported by the newspapers La Capital and Le Soir. A total of 106 e-buses are involved. With this order, MIVB/STIB intends to replace its diesel models under the Euro-5 and […]
June 14, 2024
The Walloon public transport company TEC transported more than 150 million passengers last year. As far as passenger numbers are concerned, they are back to the level before the COVID-19 health crisis. At the same time, TEC’s turnover increased by 22% compared to 2022, to 122 million euros. In doing so, it surpassed 2019 for […]
June 13, 2024
With the stalemate between the liberal MR party and Groen, the two big winners in the French and Dutch language groups in Brussels of the national elections, it looks like the Good Move mobility plan will become the topic of the municipal elections in October. MR president Georges-Louis Bouchez is determined that Good Move must […]
June 12, 2024
After news broke on Tuesday that the take-over of Belgian bus maker Van Hool in Koningshooikt (Lier) by its Dutch competitor VDL Group was finalized on Friday last week, VDL now specified its plans. That means only retaining spare part manufacturing, aftersales, intake, development, and finances, providing jobs for 250 people in Belgium. Before, 300 […]
June 10, 2024
Dutch Technical University TUDelft students claim the world’s first prototype of a hyperloop pod changing lanes at high speed. They built a 42-meter reduced-sized test track at the university campus for their Helios III pod. A key innovation is a functional lane switch, including a curved branch and a straight section for braking. Theoretically, a […]
June 06, 2024
France’s national rail operator, SNCF, is going to get an extra competitor. Backed by an investment fund, the new company Proxima plans to acquire 12 high-speed trains by the decade’s end to link Paris with Angers, Rennes, Nantes, and Bordeaux. Rachel Picard, co-founder and chief executive of Proxima, is well-known in the railway world. Until […]
May 29, 2024
High-speed train operator Eurostar has concentrated the management of its entire network and incident handling in one place: Brussels. The new operations center, which operates 24 hours a day, employs some 100 people managing around 100 trains and 50,000 passengers a day. Previously, there were two operational centers: one in Brussels for the former Thalys […]
May 29, 2024
Customer satisfaction at Flemish public transport operator De Lijn is declining, even though it carried 17% more passengers last year. The ageing bus fleet and staff shortages continue to hamper De Lijn. The Brussels public transport company MIVB/STIB also carried more passengers last year (+11%), but a more attractive offer and better punctuality ensure higher […]
May 24, 2024
BYD has presented a new electric double-decker bus, first for the British market. The BD11 features a next-generation chassis but is also powered by BYD’s blade battery. With this move, BYD is leveraging synergies between its automotive and bus businesses. BYD presented the BD11 in London, where it is also expected to find its highest […]
May 24, 2024
Despite more checks, the number of fare dodgers at Flemish public transport company De Lijn has increased by more than 70% in five years. Moreover, De Lijn is losing a lot of money because half do not pay their fines. Last year, for example, 4,1 million euros out of a total of 8,2 million euros […]
May 23, 2024
The Brussels public transport company MIVB/STIB will start operating the new tram line 10 from Churchill to the Military Hospital on 23 September. The new line should mainly increase the accessibility of Neder-Over-Heembeek, a borough of the city of Brussels. Residents of that borough currently must do a lot to get to the center of […]
May 20, 2024
Track runners and incidents at level crossings cause more than 12 hours of delays every day on the entire Belgian rail network. To improve safety at level crossings and train punctuality, rail network manager Infrabel is now using artificial intelligence (AI). By the end of this year, 70-level crossings will be equipped with AI cameras […]
May 16, 2024
High-speed train operator Eurostar is to thoroughly renew and expand its fleet by ordering up to 50 new trains. It expects to put the first new trains into service in 2030. The HST operator also reached a turnover of 2 billion euros for the first time in 2023, a quarter more than in 2022. It […]
May 15, 2024
Renault is adjusting its strategy toward autonomous vehicles. Regarding individual vehicles, Renault Group concentrates on the L2 or L2+ level for the moment. However, when it comes to public transportation, Renault Group sees the relevance of offering real autonomous vehicles. CTO Gilles Le Borgne said Renault Group would not aim for so-called SAE Level 3 […]
May 15, 2024
In collaboration with Brussels public transport operator MIVB/STIB, Brussels Mobility has applied for planning permission to construct tram line 15, a new line to link Belgica metro station and the Thurn & Taxis neighborhood with the North Station and later with Central Station. The public space along the approximately 2 km route will also be […]
May 15, 2024
Several dozens of buses are idle at De Lijn because the right spare parts are unavailable. These should normally come from Van Hool, but due to the bankruptcy, the bus manufacturer cannot supply them to the Flemish public transport company. De Lijn expects it will not stop at these dozens of buses and has set […]
May 10, 2024
Belgian railway NMBS/SNCB is looking for a buyer for four office complexes at Brussels South, or Brussels-Midi station, representing 150,000 square meters, writes the business newspaper De Tijd. Usually, the consortium that may build the railway company’s new headquarters on the site of NMBS/SNCB’s buildings on Avenue Fonsny would take over the site. The sale […]
May 07, 2024
Spanish manufacturer Irizar E-mobility has won the Flemish public transport company De Lijn’s tender for a framework agreement for up to 100 electric buses for ‘high-quality public transport’ (HOV). Modern articulated buses bet on passenger comfort and are intended for longer-distance journeys. A possible investment of 117 million euros would be involved. According to De […]
May 06, 2024
According to a stability study commissioned by the city council, the right-wing of the station building in Tienen is in danger of collapsing. The building has been languishing for several years, and the Belgian railways NMBS/SNCB wants to assign it on a long lease to a partner who must also be responsible for its renovation. […]
May 06, 2024
Thirty years ago, the railway tunnel under the Channel between mainland Europe and the United Kingdom was inaugurated. Construction started in December 1987. For seven years, more than 10,000 people worked on this site of the century, which was often perilous and required the invention of new technology, such as the iconic giant tunnel boring […]
May 03, 2024
German technology conglomerate Siemens may build the railcars for the first high-speed rail line in the US between Los Angeles and Las Vegas. Brightline, which is leading the project, has announced this. A fleet of ten railcars is involved. Siemens will also build a plant in the US to manufacture the ‘American Pioneer 220’ (AP […]
April 30, 2024
French public railways SNCF has presented the new TGV train, the so-called ‘train of the future’ expected for the second half of 2025. The train has a rather understated aesthetic and is all white, with some red accents for the logo and doors, as opposed to the striking orange of the early models. The SNCF […]
April 29, 2024
The Waterbus, which connects Brussels and Vilvoorde, will resume its service on the canal from 1 May. This has been announced by Brussels by Water. The liner will commute every weekday until October and at weekends during the summer holidays. The Waterbus sails between the Stone Quay in Vilvoorde and the Barges Quay in Brussels, […]
April 25, 2024
It has been known for a while that the UK government wants more control over rail transport, but if it depends on the opposition Labour Party, that will effectively come about when it returns to power. So write British media such as The Guardian and the BBC. If Labour is again in government, it wants […]
April 18, 2024
French multinational rolling stock manufacturer Alstom is in intensive negotiations with the UK government to save its train assembly plant in Derby, according to The Daily Telegraph, among other sources. The factory at Litchurch Lane is out of work due to an 18-month production gap at the site work and is about to be closed, […]
April 17, 2024
Last year, there were an average of 15 cases of aggression per day against staff of Belgian public transport companies, a 1,5% increase compared to 2022. To stop such aggression, De Lijn, MIVB/STIB, NMBS/SNCB, and TEC have launched a joint campaign. They are also calling for further support from the police and judiciary to tackle […]
April 16, 2024
Belgian rail network operator Infrabel and the French multinational rolling stock manufacturer Alstom will install up to 10,000 new sensors along the Belgian rail network over the next decade. To this end, the two companies have signed an 80 million euro contract. The sensors or train detection devices should, among other things, help improve train […]
