Belgian railway line 26

Belgian railway line 26
An MS/AM86 train at Vivier d'Oie/Diesdelle station in 2020
Overview
StatusOperational
LocaleBelgium
Termini
Service
Services
Belgian railway line 26
Line from Brussels-North
0.0
Schaarbeek
Line to Leuven
Line to Antwerp
from Vilvoorde
Line BrusselsLeuven
4.0
Haren
4.7
Bordet
6.1
Evere
8.6
Meiser
9.9
Merode
11.2
Delta
Line BrusselsNamur
14.7
Boondael
15.3
Vivier d'Oie
16.2
Saint-Job
Line BrusselsCharleroi
19.7
Moensberg
21.4
Beersel
24.6
Huizingen
Line from Brussels
28.6
Halle
Line to Mons
Operator(s)National Railway Company of Belgium
History
Opened1926-1930
Technical
Line length28 km (17 mi)
Number of tracksdouble track
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8+12 in) standard gauge
Electrification3 kV DC
Route map

Line from Brussels-North
0.0
Schaarbeek
Line to Leuven
Line to Antwerp
from Vilvoorde
Line BrusselsLeuven
4.0
Haren
4.7
Bordet
6.1
Evere
8.6
Meiser
9.9
Merode
11.2
Delta
Line BrusselsNamur
14.7
Boondael
15.3
Vivier d'Oie
16.2
Saint-Job
Line BrusselsCharleroi
19.7
Moensberg
21.4
Beersel
24.6
Huizingen
Line from Brussels
28.6
Halle
Line to Mons

The Belgian railway line 26 is a railway line in Belgium connecting Brussels to Halle. It opened on 19 July 1926 between Schaerbeek and Watermael railway stations. The line was completed on 3 January 1930.[1] It was built to bypass Brussels before the 1952 North–South connection existed.

Today, all passenger trains using the line travel from Vilvoorde on a branch line called 26/1 and not from Schaerbeek, to various destinations south of Brussels. The line carries (parts of) several services of the GEN/RER: S4, S5, S7, S9. Some of these use the Schuman-Josaphat tunnel, which branches off just south of Meiser station.

The line serves the following stations:

Schaarbeek-Josaphat is no longer an operational station, it was a freight yard very near the present Evere railway station. Etterbeek-Cinquantenaire was also a freight station, now closed and (mostly) filled in.

  1. ^ "Ligne 26: Schaerbeek - Halle". BelRail.be.