The Société Nationale des Chemins de Fer Luxembourgeois (; Luxembourg National Railway Company; abbr. CFL ) is the national railway company of

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

. In 2024, it carried approximately 31.3 million passengers. As of 2023, the company employs around 5,000 people, making CFL the country's largest corporate employer. The Luxembourg rail system comprises 275 route-kilometres (170 miles), of which is double track and single track. Of the total track length of , are electrified at 25 kV, 50 Hz. Luxembourg borders

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

, France and Germany. Correspondingly, there are cross-border services into these countries. Some are wholly run by CFL, whereas others are run by

SNCF The Société nationale des chemins de fer français (, , SNCF ) is France's national State-owned enterprise, state-owned railway company. Founded in 1938, it operates the Rail transport in France, country's national rail traffic along with th ...

NMBS/SNCB The National Railway Company of Belgium (, NMBS; , SNCB; ) is the national railway company of Belgium. The company formally styles itself using the Dutch and French abbreviations NMBS/SNCB. The corporate logo designed in 1936 by Henry van de V ...

and DB. CFL passenger trains cover most of the network. CFL operates most of its passenger trains using

EMU The emu (; ''Dromaius novaehollandiae'') is a species of flightless bird endemism, endemic to Australia, where it is the Tallest extant birds, tallest native bird. It is the only extant taxon, extant member of the genus ''Dromaius'' and the ...

s and electric locomotives with push-pull stock. The company also has a fleet of diesel locomotives for hauling freight trains and for general shunting purposes. Luxembourg is a member of the

International Union of Railways The International Union of Railways (, UIC) is an international rail transport industry body based in Paris. History The railways of Europe had originated during the nineteenth century as many separate concerns across numerous nations; this le ...

(UIC). The UIC Country Code for Luxembourg is 82.

History

CFL is the result of a nationalisation of private railway companies in 1946.

CFL operations and services

Passenger train routes

CFL advertises its passenger network as made up of seven lines: * Line 10 Luxembourg – Troisvierges-Frontière – Liège (Belgium), Kautenbach – Wiltz and Ettelbrück – Diekirch * Line 30 Luxembourg – Wasserbillig-Frontière – Trier (Germany) * Line 50 Luxembourg – Kleinbettingen-Frontière – Brussels (Belgium) * Line 60 Luxembourg – Esch-sur-Alzette – Rodange, Bettembourg – Volmerange-les-Mines (France), Noetzange – Rumelange and Esch-sur-Alzette – Audun-le-Tiche (France) * Line 70 Luxembourg – Rodange – Athus (Belgium), Rodange – Longwy (France) * Line 90 Luxembourg – Thionville (France) – Metz (France) – Nancy (France) Internally it uses a different system with more sub divisions: * Ligne 1 Luxembourg – Troisvierges-Frontière, 1a Ettelbruck – Diekirch, 1b Kautenbach – Wiltz * Ligne 2a Kleinbettingen – Steinfort, 2b Ettelbruck – Bissen * Ligne 3 Luxembourg – Wasserbillig-Frontière via Sandweiler-Contern * Ligne 4 Luxembourg – Berchem – Oetrange, 4a Luxembourg - Alzingen * Ligne 5 Luxembourg – Kleinbettingen-Frontière * Ligne 6 Luxembourg – Bettembourg-Frontière, 6a Bettembourg – Esch/Alzette, 6b Bettembourg – Dudelange-Usines (Volmerange), 6c Noertzange – Rumelange, 6d Tétange – Langengrund, 6e Esch-sur-Alzette – Audun-le-Tiche, 6f Esch-sur-Alzette – Pétange, 6g Pétange – Rodange-Frontière (Aubange), 6h Pétange – Rodange-Frontière (Mont St. Martin), 6j Pétange – Rodange-Frontière (Athus), 6k Brucherberg – Scheuerbusch * Ligne 7 Luxembourg – Pétange

Rail links to adjacent countries

All neighbouring countries have railways, but only France uses the same

electrification Electrification is the process of powering by electricity and, in many contexts, the introduction of such power by changing over from an earlier power source. In the context of history of technology and economic development, electrification refe ...

25 kV AC Railway electrification systems using alternating current (AC) at are used worldwide, especially for high-speed rail. It is usually supplied at the standard utility frequency (typically 50 or 60Hz), which simplifies traction substations. The dev ...

: *

– change to 3 kV DC *

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

– same voltage and current *

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

– change to 15 kV AC

Ridership

Passenger ridership carried on CFL-trains for each

fiscal year A fiscal year (also known as a financial year, or sometimes budget year) is used in government accounting, which varies between countries, and for budget purposes. It is also used for financial reporting by businesses and other organizations. La ...

(x 1000). *1938: 9,505 *1950: 10,607 *1960: 10,643 *1970: 12,531 *1980: 14,053 *1990: 12,692 *2000: 12,985 *2006: 14,793 *2007: 16,442 *2008: 17,676 *2009: 17,039 *2010: 17,996 *2011: 18,200 *2012: 19,834 *2013: 20,714 *2014: 21,503 *2015: 22,496 *2016: 22,459 *2017: 22,930 *2018: 23,331 *2019: 25,016 *2020: 14,500 *2021: 16,600 *2022: 22,000 *2023: 28,700 Passenger kilometers on CFL-trains for each

(x 1,000,000). *1938: 215 *1950: 227 *1960: 230 *1970: 256 *1980: 302 *1990: 261 *2000: 332 *2006: 298 *2007: 233 *2008: 345 *2009: 333 *2010: 347 *2011: 349 *2012: 373 *2013: 385 *2014: 409 *2015: 418 *2016: 417 *2017: 438 *2018: 443 *2019: 463 *2020: 269 *2021: 304 *2022: 389

Rolling stock

CFL owns a relatively modern fleet of passenger trains, with a majority of double-decker trains. Nearly all routes are operated with electric trains. * CFL locomotives and rolling stock

Projects

In 2019, doubling of track between

Luxembourg railway station Luxembourg railway station ( , , ), commonly referred to as the Gare, is the main railway station serving Luxembourg City, in southern Luxembourg. It is operated by Chemins de Fer Luxembourgeois, the state-owned railway company. As of 2022, the ...

and Sandweiler-Contern at a cost of €462 million was completed, following an original planned 2013 opening. A new, more direct, line between Luxembourg and Bettembourg is due to open in 2027.

Fares

CFL trains are free of charge, with the exception of first class.https://luxembourg.public.lu/en/living/mobility/public-transport.html

References

External links

*
CFL official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Societe Nationale des Chemins de Fer Luxembourgeois

Companies A company, abbreviated as co., is a legal entity representing an association of legal people, whether natural, juridical or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common purpose and unite to achieve specifi ...

01 Government-owned companies of Luxembourg Companies based in Luxembourg City Railway companies established in 1946 1946 establishments in Europe 1946 in Luxembourg