High-speed rail in Belgium

Belgium's high-speed rail network provides mostly international connections from Brussels to France, Germany and The Netherlands. The high-speed network began with the opening of the HSL 1 to France in 1997, and since then high-speed lines have been extended towards Germany with HSL 2 in 2002, HSL 3 from Liège to the German border in 2009, and HSL 4 from Antwerp to the Dutch border in 2009.

Four high-speed train services currently operate in Belgium: Thalys, Eurostar, InterCityExpress (ICE) and TGV. All operators stop in Brussels-South railway station, Belgium's largest train station. Some services also stop in Liège and Antwerp. Eurostar connects Brussels to London St Pancras. The German ICE operates between Brussels-South, Liège-Guillemins railway station and Frankfurt (Main) Hauptbahnhof via Köln (Cologne).

There are three high-speed lines in Belgium which support 300 km/h (190 mph) operation, and one that supports speeds up to 260 km/h (160 mph). All are electrified at 25 kV AC, 50 Hz, unlike most of the rest of the network which uses 3 kV DC.

HSL 1 connects Brussels with the French border. 88 km (55 mi) long (71 km (44 mi) dedicated high-speed tracks, 17 km (11 mi) modernised lines), it began service on 14 December 1997. The line has appreciably shortened rail journeys, the journey from Paris to Brussels now taking 1:22. In combination with the LGV Nord, it has also impacted international journeys to France and London, ensuring high-speed through-running by Eurostar, TGV, Thalys PBA and Thalys PBKA trainsets. The total construction cost was €1.42 billion.

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