New timetable NMBS: fast IC train Antwerp-Hasselt is received – Belgium
(Belga) A new one-hour IC connection between Antwerp and Hasselt and a number of extra early and late trains. These are the highlights of the new timetable of the railway company NMBS, which will take effect on 12 December. As announced, the Benelux train will no longer run directly to The Hague from then on.
It is the new, fast IC connection between Hasselt and Antwerp Central on weekdays, which has been requested for a long time. “Thanks to this connection, train passengers can travel faster throughout the day between Antwerp, Hasselt and the stations in between,” says the NMBS. “Between Antwerp and Hasselt, the travel time will be one hour.” In addition, there are extra early and/or late trains at various places. This is the case on weekdays, for example, between Ghent-Sint-Pieters and Dendermonde, Ghent-Sint-Pieters and Aalst, and from Kortrijk and Ghent-Sint-Pieters to Brussels and back. On Saturday there is an extra early train from De Panne to Lichtervelde and Gent-Sint-Pieters, and in the evening in the opposite direction. And there will be extra late trains between Ostend and Kortrijk during the weekend. Furthermore, the Louvain-la-Neuve – Brussels-South S8 train will run on weekdays to Zottegem, and will also stop at Anderlecht station. The S9 train Braine-l’Alleud – Brussels-Schuman – Leuven will be extended to Landen (with stops in Vertrijk, Tienen, Neerwinden and Ezemaal). And the train from Antwerp to Antwerp Airport and Leuven/Hasselt will run IC hour on Sundays and public holidays between Leuven and Hasselt. As announced, the Benelux train will no longer run directly from Brussels to The Hague. Travelers with that will change in Breda or Rotterdam. All Benelux trains from Brussels (with stops in Belgium also in Mechelen and Antwerp, among others) therefore provide transport to Amsterdam-Central. That will be sixteen a day in both directions. The changes have been entered in the NMBS travel planner. Minister of Mobility Georges Gilkinet (Ecolo) says that, despite corona, he has “explicitly asked the NMBS” to grant its transport plan for 2022 passengers. “In order to surprise more people to take the train, it is important that the train offer is structurally strengthened,” he says. The new timetable is part of the NMBS’s 2020-2023 transport plan. That applies in an expansion of the offer by almost 5 percent between December 2020 and the end of 2023. That would be with a thousand extra trains per week, the NMBS said earlier. (Belgium)
It is the new, fast IC connection between Hasselt and Antwerp Central on weekdays, which has been requested for a long time. “Thanks to this connection, train passengers can travel faster throughout the day between Antwerp, Hasselt and the stations in between,” says the NMBS. “Between Antwerp and Hasselt, the travel time will be one hour.” In addition, there are extra early and/or late trains at various places. This is the case on weekdays, for example, between Ghent-Sint-Pieters and Dendermonde, Ghent-Sint-Pieters and Aalst, and from Kortrijk and Ghent-Sint-Pieters to Brussels and back. On Saturday there is an extra early train from De Panne to Lichtervelde and Gent-Sint-Pieters, and in the evening in the opposite direction. And there will be extra late trains between Ostend and Kortrijk during the weekend. Furthermore, the Louvain-la-Neuve – Brussels-South S8 train will run on weekdays to Zottegem, and will also stop at Anderlecht station. The S9 train Braine-l’Alleud – Brussels-Schuman – Leuven will be extended to Landen (with stops in Vertrijk, Tienen, Neerwinden and Ezemaal). And the train from Antwerp to Antwerp Airport and Leuven/Hasselt will run IC every hour on Sundays and public holidays between Leuven and Hasselt. As announced, the Benelux train will no longer run directly from Brussels to The Hague. Travelers with that will change in Breda or Rotterdam. All Benelux trains from Brussels (with stops in Belgium in Mechelen and Antwerp, among others) therefore provide transport to Amsterdam Central. That will be sixteen a day in both directions. The changes have been entered in the NMBS travel planner. Minister of Mobility Georges Gilkinet (Ecolo) says that, despite corona, he has “explicitly asked the NMBS” to grant its transport plan for 2022 passengers. “In order to surprise more people to take the train, it is important that the train offer is structurally strengthened,” he says. The new timetable is part of the NMBS’s 2020-2023 transport plan. That applies in an expansion of the offer by almost 5 percent between December 2020 and the end of 2023. That would be with a thousand extra trains per week, the NMBS said earlier. (Belgium)