State of the Belgian rail network after the floods: some lines closed until end-August

Following the new bad weather which hit the south of Belgium last week, Infrabel decided to stop train traffic in a large part of Wallonia. This decision will allow it to prioritise network security.

Rochefort, Liège, Visé… Wallonia was hard hit by severe bad weather. The consequences were not long in coming on the network: floods, mudslides, damage to the tracks… The damage is significant and mobilised a large part of Infrabel workers.

“Given the extent of the disruptions and in order to avoid running any risk for customers and rail staff, we have taken the decision to interrupt traffic over a large part of Wallonia,” explains managing director, Benoît Gilson. “Once the situation is under control, we will do a damage assessment, set priorities and take all necessary actions to restore traffic safely.”

Infrabel teams were able to start work on some lines but following the new floods, some places still remain inaccessible. The company also still need to assess the damage in some areas before it can communicate a specific time frame.

Network map (update Sunday 18 July)

In green, lines in service on July 18
In yellow, lines that return to service from this Monday, July 19
In pink, lines that return to service on July 26
In red, lines that return to service on August 2
In blue, lines that return to service on August 9
In purple, line 37 between Liège and Pepinster, over which a bridge has collapsed. It will be put back into service around August 30