All Belgium articles – Page 4
-
NewsNight train start-ups European Sleeper and Moonlight Express join forces
EUROPE: Night train start-up companies European Sleeper and Moonlight Express have decided to join forces rather than develop competing initiatives to launch overnight services from Belgium and the Netherlands. On June 16 the companies said they would work together under the European Sleeper brand to launch ...
-
Metro Report InternationalBrussels M7 metro trains launched
BELGIUM: Brussels metro operator STIB has officially launched its M7 series trainsets into operation, with CEO Brieuc Meeûs d’Argenteuil and the capital region’s Minister of Mobility Elke van den Brandt taking invited guests for a short ride on the first unit from Erasmus station on Line 1.
-
NewsEurostar to increase services and complete Thalys merger as £250m refinancing agreement secured
EUROPE: Cross-Channel high speed train operator Eurostar has announced a £250m refinancing agreement with its shareholders and banks, which it said would enable it to continue to operate services and meet its short to mid-term financial obligations. The refinancing package announced on May 18 comprises £50m ...
-
NewsInfrabel completes GSM-R migration
BELGIUM: Infrabel has successfully completed a two-year project to migrate its radio communications core network infrastructure to a VOIP backbone, as part of its ongoing telecoms modernisation and resignalling programme. Working with industrial partner Kontron Transportation, the national infrastructure manager has been working to switch its communications ...
-
NewsCall for Eurostar trains to be made available to support on-rail competition
EUROPE: The ALLRAIL association of new entrants to the rail market has said any government support which might be offered to Eurostar during the coronavirus pandemic should be accompanied by conditions designed to facilitate cross-Channel competition.
-
NewsBombardier Transportation invests to increase capacity at Brugge factory
BELGIUM: Bombardier Transportation has announced €6m of investment to increase production capacity at its Brugge factory, including the recruitment of at least 180 employees. The plan announced on January 26 includes a new production line for single-deck coaches and for Type M7 double-deck cars for SNCB, ...
-
Metro Report InternationalTrams to serve Brussels airport from 2026
BELGIUM: The long-planned extension of the capital’s tram network to Brussels National Airport is set to open in 2026, under an agreement between public transport operator STIB and the Vlaanderen regional government’s major projects organisation De Werkvennootschap.
-
NewsSNCB divests remaining stake in freight operator Lineas
BELGIUM: SNCB has sold its remaining 10% stake in part-privatised freight business Lineas to the federal government’s holding and investment company SFPI, as part of the national train operator’s strategy of focusing on its core passenger activities. In 2015 SNCB sold an initial 69% stake in what ...
-
NewsUK government called on to support Eurostar during the pandemic
EUROPE: Cross-Channel high speed train operator Eurostar has called for financial support of the kind which has been offered to airlines during the coronavirus pandemic, saying that without government funding ‘there is a real risk to the survival of Eurostar and the green gateway to Europe’.
-
NewsSNCB orders multifunctional double-deck coaches with improved accessibility
BELGIUM: National operator SNCB has ordered a further 204 Type M7 double-deck coaches, placing a contract for multifunctional vehicles adapted to improve accessibility for passengers with reduced mobility. Awarded to a consortium of Bombardier Transportation and Alstom, the €445m contract announced on December 21 has been ...
-
Metro Report InternationalDe Lijn orders more trams for Antwerpen
BELGIUM: Vlaanderen transport operator De Lijn has placed a firm order for a further 17 CAF trams, exercising an option in its framework agreement covering up to 146 vehicles which was signed October 2017.
-
NewsContainer shuttles to relieve Antwerpen’s roads
BELGIUM: Rail freight operator Lineas and logistics company Tabaknatie have announced plans to set up container collection points outside Antwerpen in support of wider efforts to reduce the number of lorries on the city’s roads during disruption to be caused by the Oosterweel Link ring road construction ...
-
NewsMaking it easier for the chemical industry to shift to rail
BELGIUM: A prototype automated system for loading pallets onto railway wagons and a concept for a multimodal chemical logistics hub in the Port of Antwerpen were presented by freight operator Lineas and Belgian chemical industry association Essenscia on September 15. The initiatives have been developed under the ...
-
NewsBringing ‘Silicon Valley best practice’ to ETCS development
BELGIUM: The Signalling Company has started continuous round-the-clock testing of its ETCS Onboard software, using ‘a well-known Silicon Valley best practice’ from the software industry known as continuous integration. TSC is a joint venture of ERTMS Solutions and freight operator Lineas, and it is developing ETCS Onboard ...
-
NewsSNCB double-deckers delayed
BELGIUM: Delivery of SNCB’s double-deck Type M7 push-pull trainsets has been further delayed by the coronavirus, and will not be completed until March 2023, CEO Sophie Dutordoir has confirmed.
-
Metro Report InternationalFirst M7 metro trainset arrives in Brussels
BELGIUM: The first of 43 six-car Type M7 trainsets for the Brussels metro has arrived at the Haren depot for commissioning, operator STIB announced on July 13.
-
NewsEurostar looks to cut costs with reduced hours and part-time working
EUROPE: Eurostar is looking to reduce its payroll costs through the introduction of reduced hours and more part-time working ‘wherever possible throughout 2021’, in a move which the cross-Channel high speed operator said was intended to protect jobs at a time when ‘the impact of Covid-19 has ...
-
NewsAgreements signed to allow direct Amsterdam – London trains
EUROPE: Eurostar is set to launch direct services between Amsterdam and London later this year, following the signing on July 7 of four-country agreements covering the legal and security arrangements. A date for the start of through services has not yet been finalised, the high speed train ...
-
NewsArriva awards Guardia ETCS retrofitting contract
NETHERLANDS: Arriva Nederland has awarded Stadler a contract to retrofit 36 Flirt multiple-units used on regional services in Limburg with Guardia ETCS onboard equipment. The contract includes obtaining approval for the use of Guardia in Germany and Belgium, because eight of the EMUs are used on cross-border ...
-
Metro Report InternationalCAF Urbos tram arrives in Oostende
BELGIUM: The first of 48 CAF-built Urbos 100 trams for De Lijn’s coastal tramway was delivered to the operator’s Oostende depot on the night of June 22-23.