€57 million to make eight Brussels rail stations more accessible

Belgium's federal government has approved an amendment to Infrabel’s 2023–2032 multi-year investment plan, earmarking €57.8 million for the refurbishment of eight Brussels stations, including Brussels-Midi.

Infrabel intends to use the money to raise the platforms to make boarding and alighting smoother, and also to improve access to the platforms, including the installation of lifts at some stations where accessibility is an issue.

In Brussels, the funds will go to Brussels-Midi, Etterbeek, Schaerbeek, Haren-Sud, Uccle-Stalle, Uccle-Calevoet, Forest-Est and Bordet stations.

The additional funds for the upgrades come from the postponement of two major rail projects by Infrabel, according to federal mobility minister Jean-Luc Crucke (Les Engagés).

The two postponed projects - Rail Gent-Terneuzen, the freight railway between the port of Ghent and the Dutch town of Terneuzen, and improving accessibility at Antwerp-Berchem station - are taking longer than expected.

Both projects will not start until 2030 at the earliest and will therefore be partly postponed to the period after 2032, freeing up €124.5 million within the current plan.

On top of this, there is a further €52 million in European subsidies.

Outside Brussels, the funds will be used, among other things, for a project involving battery-powered trains, which in time could replace diesel trains on lines without overhead lines. Approximately €27.5 million has been set aside for this.

Infrabel has also earmarked €21.5 million to adapt the rail infrastructure serving the Leopoldsburg barracks in Limburg.

Another €15.6 million will go towards improving freight connections with the Netherlands and Germany, a project known as the Iron Rhine. Finally, the rail network in the three Flemish ports - Ostend, Antwerp-Bruges and Ghent - will be strengthened through additional investments in safety and reliability.

With this update to Infrabel’s 2023–2032 multi-year investment plan, all previously planned projects will be funded without additional resources, Crucke emphasised.

This also applies to major projects such as the Regional Express Network (RER) for Brussels and the modernisation of the Brussels–Luxembourg line (line 161). These projects must be completed by 2032.