Belgian railway line 36

The Belgian railway line 36 is a railway line in Belgium connecting Brussels to Liège. Completed in 1866, the line runs 99.3 km.[1] Trains running between Brussels and Aachen in Germany use the line as far as Liège, and then line 37 between Liège and the German border, the last stop in Belgium being Welkenraedt.[2]

Belgian railway line 36
A Thalys train on line 36 in 2006
Overview
StatusOperational
LocaleBelgium
TerminiBrussels-North railway station
Liège-Guillemins railway station
Service
Operator(s)National Railway Company of Belgium
History
Opened1837-1866
Technical
Line length100 km (62 mi)
Number of tracksdouble track
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Electrification3 kV DC
Route map

 Line from Brussels-South
 0.0 Brussels-North
Line from Namur
Line to Ghent
 2.4 Schaarbeek
Line to Antwerp
5.5 Haren-Zuid
Line Halle–Vilvoorde
 7.0 Diegem
 9.4 Zaventem
to Brussels Airport
12.0 Nossegem
 14.7 Kortenberg
 17.8 Erps-Kwerps
 21.1 Veltem
 24.0 Herent
to Aarschot
from Mechelen
from Aarschot
 28.8 Leuven
to Ottignies
HSL 2 to Liège
40.0 Vertrijk
 47.4 Tienen
 53.8 Ezemaal
 57.0 Neerwinden
 60.7 Landen
to Hasselt
74.5 Waremme
 77.2 Bleret
 79.8 Remicourt
 83.2 Momalle
 85.4 Fexhe-le-Haut-Clocher
 87.8 Voroux-Goreux
freight line to Angleur
 89.9 Bierset-Awans
HSL 2 from Leuven
 93.4 Ans
from Tongeren
 99.9 Liège-Guillemins
Line to Namur
 River Meuse
to Seraing
Line to Maastricht
 Line to Aachen

Between Schaarbeek and Leuven, the line is 4-track; the outer tracks serve local trains with many stops, while the central tracks carry intercity and high-speed trains; these are called L36N, and branch off after Leuven onto a separate route that mostly follows the E5 motorway towards Liege. The Diabolo project connects L36 to the station under Brussels Airport.

The following stations are located on the line:

Inclined Planes of Liège

Between Ans and Liège the railway line has to descend 358 feet within less than 5 miles. This steep incline was initially negotiated with the help of a fixed engine driving an endless rope that was used to haul the trains without the help of a locomotive.[3] After the late 1860s, special banking locomotives were used and the fixed engine was discarded. Another line (line 36A) was built to bypass the incline but this line is only used by freight trains.[4]

When line 36 was electrified in 1955, most of the trains still needed a banking engine. Currently, some trains are powerful enough to climb the incline without a helper and the rest are provided with two locomotives. The rear engine is no longer removed at Ans in order to save time.

References
  1. "Ligne 36: Bruxelles-Nord - Liège-Guillemins". BelRail.be.
  2. "Ligne 37: Liège-Guillemins - Hergenrath - (D)". BelRail.be.
  3. The Edinburgh New Philosophical Journal: Exhibiting a View of the Progressive Discoveries and Improvements in the Sciences and the Arts. A. and C. Black. 1845.
  4. "Les plans inclinés de Liège - Rixke Rail's Archives". rixke.tassignon.be (in French). Retrieved 2018-11-08.
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