Inaugurated in 1997, the LGV1 is the flagship of the Belgian high-speed rail network. Every day, around a hundred trains travel along it at 300 km/h, linking Belgium and France. To guarantee the performance of this heavily used infrastructure and, more generally, the competitiveness of rail transport in Europe, Infrabel has just launched a major project to renew its various components. The work will be spread over ten years.
The high-speed rail link between Brussels and France, between Halle and the border town of Esplechin, is celebrating its 27th birthday this year. Every day, around a hundred TGVs travel along it at 300 km/h. In recent years, Infrabel has been planning this work, as the line has shown signs of ageing. LGV 1 should be renovated by 2035. The total budget for this work is €310 million. It is included in Infrabel's multi-year investment plan, which was approved by the federal government in December 2022.
The first phase, the Leuze-Brugelette section, was launched this week. One of the two tracks will be completely renewed over a distance of 17.6 km using the "Swietelsky" train. This is an Austrian factory train, over 1 km long and weighing 4,000 tonnes, which crosses Europe to carry out such mega-projects.
At the center of this train is a 200-metre-long renewal unit. It spreads the rails, removes the sleepers, and sucks up the ballast for filtration. The train levels and tamps the ground to accommodate the new sleepers and renewed ballast in the same continuous movement. The rails are then reinstalled. The train is operated by 70 technicians and is capable of renewing no less than 180 meters of track per hour. It is in operation 12 hours a day, the rest of the day being devoted to necessary maintenance.
