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
Termini
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 E40 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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