Train travel in Belgium is a perfect way to explore the country. There are plenty of connections – trains run every half-hour or hour between larger cities. Ticket prices are relatively low compared to earnings and passenger can choose between a numerous discounts and promotions. Rolling stock varies – there are old electric multiple units and very comfortable Intercity trains.
Last updated: 06.07.2024
The first railway line in Belgium from Brussels to Mechelen was opened in 1835. The network expanded rapidly during the Industral Revolution and Belgium has dense and good-maintained railway network.
Between 1842 and 1843 private companies built connections from France and Germany to the Belgian network.
From 1870 to 1882, the railways were gradually nationalised.
In 1926 National Railway Company of Belgium (SNCB-NMBS) was founded.
On 1 January 2007 freight rail transport in Belgium was liberalized.
In 2010 international passenger transport was liberalized.
The domestic passenger transport opened up in 2019.
Train travel in Belgium – domestic trains
Trains in Belgium are a popular means of transport. The best way to explore Belgium is to book accommodation in a city with a large number of train connections. From the city where we stay overnight, we can arrange one-day trips to nearby and distant Belgian cities every day of our trip around Belgium.
A few years ago I stayed overnight in Mons and Mechelen, from where I took a train to other Belgian cities. Thanks to the trains, I visited Bruges, Ostend, Antwerp, Brussels and cities in neighboring countries – Luxembourg, Dordrecht, Breda, Lille and Amiens.
Don’t miss a beautiful train station in Antwerp.
Trains in Belgium have 1st and 2nd class. There are also a double-decker trains.
Useful websites:
belgiantrain.be – SNCB-NMBS official website. Domestic tickets, timetable, e-shop.
b-europe.com – international train timetable, prices and e-shop.
A high commission is added to the price of a ticket purchased at the ticket office at the train station and is sometimes even 7 euros more expensive than a ticket purchased online.
Pets are allowed on SNCB-NMBS trains, but you need to purchase a separate ticket for your pet. Ticket prices for bicycle transport are flat-rate, you can buy a one-day ticket.
belgiantrain.be – information about bike transport
belgiantrain.be – information about pets transport
Most popular domestic routes in Belgium:
Brussels – Bruges – Ostende
Brussels – Antwerp
Bruges – Ghent – Antwerp
Brussels – Liege
Train travel in Belgium – best offers
Belgian Railways offers many discount tickets. There are best offers, mainly network tickets (pass) allows to unlimited travel by train in Belgium during the period of validity of the ticket (with some restrictions).
Go Unlimited 26 – best offer for young people up to 26 years of age. The network ticket allows you to travel by train on specific dates (during holidays) for peanuts (very small amount of money). Tickets are available in two variants – weekly and monthly. A weekly Go Unlimited ticket costs 18 EUR, a monthly ticket 35 EUR (2024) – for this price you can explore Belgium by train.
Unlimited Season Ticket – offer for adults (26-65). Unlimited Season Ticket is a network ticket available in variants for one month, three months or a year. You can choose first or second class. It’s noteworthy if you plan a longer stay in Belgium. One month ticket for 2nd class costs 390 EUR (2024)
Summer Abo/Off-Peak Unlimited – monthly summer ticket for all. This network pass allow to travel as much as you want throughout Belgium after 9am during summer. Remember to activate a trip each time you travel. This activation will generate a QR code to present to the train attendant. Ticket is valid on weekdays from 9 am and on weekends and public holidays without restriction. Monthly ticket is valid valid for 31 days from 1 July to the latest day validity of the offer (in 2023 3 September). In 2023 the ticket cost 59 EUR for 1 month in 2nd class or 89 EUR for 1 month in 1st class.
Tourist railways in Belgium
Only a few tourist railways operate in Belgium. The trains usually run only during the season or on weekends. Trains are steam or diesel hauled and comprised of vintage carriages. Sometimes passengers are carried by historic railbuses. Special tariffs applied. SNCB tickets and Interrail passes are not accepted.
Most popular tourist railways:
Stoomcentre Maldegem – steam or diesel hauled trains from Maldegem to Eeklo and Donk.
Stoomtrein Dendermonde-Puurs – standard-gauge heritage railway from the town of Dendermonde to the town of Puurs over about 14 km.
Chemin de fer à vapeur des Trois Vallées – heritage trains from Mariembourg to Treignes (12 km).
Tourist railways in Belgium – a full list.
Narrow-gauge railways in Belgium
There are a few operational narrow-gauge railways and heritage narrow-gauge trams in Belgium.
Most popular narrow-gauge trams and railways:
Rail Rebecq – Rognon – a 600 mm narrow-gauge railway between the towns of Rebecq and Rognon (4 km)
Heritage tram in Han Sur Lesse – a tram from the city center to the famous caves.
Tramway Touristique de l’Aisne (TTA) – a tourist tram in the town of Érezée.
Narrow-gauge railways in Belgium – a full list
Spa funicular
There is an only one funicular railway in Belgium. The funicular is located in Spa – well-known city of Wallonia in the province of Liège, one of Belgium’s most popular tourist destinations, being renowned for its natural mineral springs and world-famous local mineral water.
The funicular connects city centre with top of the hill where is situated the modern spa facility which offers traditional copper baths.
The funicular was opened in 2004 and replaced old cable car that had been operating since 1958. The lower station is located in Parc de 7 Heures, popular among aristocrats in 18th and 19th century. Each of two cabins can carry 15 passengers, the journey takes three minutes. Tickets are inexpensive, you can buy tickets on ticket vending machines at the entrance to the each station. During short ride you can admire views of the city and surrounding forest.
The funicular operates daily between 9am and 8pm.
Train travel in Belgium – Kusttram
One of Belgium’s most well-known tourist attractions is the Kusttram, the longest tram line in the world. The line starts in Adinkerke, near the Belgian-French border, and runs all the way to Knokke, a town near the border with the Netherlands. Part of the tram line was built along the sea.
The first section of the tram line was opened in 1885. Currently, the line has 69 stops and is 68-71 km long. The track gauge is 1000 mm. Trams run every 20 minutes during the off-season and every 10 minutes during the summer season. The Kusttram passes through popular towns such as Ostend and Nieuwpoort (the tram between these towns runs along the sea the entire way). The one-way travel time is two and a half hours.
There were plans to extend the line to the Dutch town of Breskens and the French town of Dunkirk. However, these plans have not yet been realized.
Monorails in Belgium
There is only one monorail system in Belgium located in the Bobbejaanland amusement park. The monorail was put into operation in 1976. Total length of the route is 1,85 km. The slow ride around theme park (top speed is 7,5 km) allows passenger to relax and observe many of the attractions. The monorail has three station – the first one is located at the entrance to the park. Monorail stops in Cowboy Village and terminates at Indiana River.
In the past, there was a smaller monorail in Bobbejaanland park. It had 1 station and was demolished in 1994.
In 2007 two other monorails in Belgium were demolished – in Bellewaerde and Plopsaland De Panne.
Train World
Train World is the official museum of the National Railway Company of Belgium (NMBS/SNCB) situated in the preserved buildings of beautiful Schaarbeek railway station and in a new shed built to its north in Brussels (5 km from the city centre) on the Brussels – Mechelen route. The museum was inaugurated in 2015.
The museum displays 22 locomotives and 1,200 other objects, including an original 19th-century railway bridge. One of the most important objects in the museum is the “Pays du Waes” steam locomotive, dating to 1845, which is the oldest preserved locomotive in continental Europe and “type 12” streamlined steam locomotive whose speed in 1939 beat records.
Visitors can see also royal cars or cars of TEE train the predecessor of the European high-speed trains.
The museum is highly interactive.
Train World – official website
Train travel in Belgium – international trains
There are numerous international trains from Belgium to adjacent countries.
Austria
The Nightjet train runs twice a week from Vienna to Brussels. An overnight train is comprised of seating carriages, couchettes and sleeping cars. If you will have a luck, you can buy tickets at promotional rates, but based-rate tickets are very expensive.
nightjet.com – additional information and online shop
European Sleeper train
The overnight train from Brussels to Berlin. From March 2024 it will be extended to Prague. The train runs twice a week. European Sleeper train is cheaper than Nightjet trains (based-price tickets) but carriages are older and less comfortable. Train has seating carriages with compartments, couchette cars and sleeping cars.
European Sleeper – official website
Netherlands
The Netherlands and Belgium have numerous railway crossings, but not all of them are used in passenger traffic. There are following trains between countries:
Brussels – Amsterdam (NS International + Eurostar)
Liege – Maastricht (Intercity)
Roosendaal – Puurs via Antwerp (regional)
It is worth noting that the Brussels – Amsterdam trains have changed their route – they used to go through Roosendaal and Dordrecht, now they go through Breda.
Tickets are available on www.b-europe.com
In addition, one-day Euregioticket network tickets are available for the Euroregion covering areas around Liege, Maastricht and Aachen. At the time of writing the article, the ticket cost 21.70 euros (2024).
belgiantrain.be – additional information
Luxembourg
Brussels – Luxembourg and Liege – Luxembourg trains run between Belgium and Luxembourg. You can also take a train from Liege to Gouva and from there by bus to the Luxembourg side.
From 2020, public transport in Luxembourg is free.
Train from Brussels to Luxembourg
Train from Liege to Luxembourg
France
In recent years, the offer of passenger trains between France and Belgium has improved. The Belgian railways, in cooperation with the French railways, run TGV trains under the TGV INOUI brand from Brussels to Marseille, Nantes, Bordeaux, Lyon, Strasbourg and other cities along the way.
Additionally, passenger trains run on the routes:
Kortrijk – Lille
Tournai – Lille
Another way to get from Belgium to France is to travel to the last station before the border and cross the border on foot. For example, we take a train from Charleoi to Erquille and cross the border to find ourselves in Jermont, France.
For example, in the divided city of Comines, train stations are located on the French and Belgian sides, but are not connected to each other. There are single trains on the French side, and many more on the Belgian side.
There are no trains through the railway crossing at Quevy or through Quievrain.
In addition, the Eurostar (formerly Thalys) carrier runs Paris-Amsterdam and Paris-Cologne trains via Brussels .
Tickets can be purchased on www.b-europe.com
Germany
Apart from the Liege – Aachen regional trains, the number of connections with Germany is not impressive. Some connections between Brussels and Cologne or Essen are served by Eurostar, so only connections operated by ICE trains are worthy of interest. Due to the large number of people, seat reservation is highly recommended.
ICE trains run on the Brussels – Cologne – Frankfurt am Main route.
Tickets can be purchased on int.bahn.de
Trains between Germany and Belgium – additional information
United Kingdom
Eurostar trains run between Brussels and London. The journey time is two hours and eleven minutes.
Tickets can be purchased on www.eurostar.com
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