The HSL 2 (french: Ligne à Grande Vitesse (LGV) 2, nl, Hogesnelheidslijn 2, en, High-Speed Line 2) is a

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

high-speed rail line between

Leuven Leuven (, ) or Louvain (, , ; german: link=no, Löwen ) is the capital and largest city of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipality itself comprises the historic c ...

and Ans (near

Liège Liège ( , , ; wa, Lîdje ; nl, Luik ; german: Lüttich ) is a major city and municipality of Wallonia and the capital of the Belgian province of Liège. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east of Belgium, not far fro ...

) and is long, all of it on dedicated high-speed tracks, which began service on 15 December 2002. As part of the Belgian railway network, it is owned, technically operated and maintained by Infrabel. Since the extension to the German border was completed (the HSL 3), the fastest journey time between Brussels South and

Cologne Central Station Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 million ...

is 1 hour and 47 minutes. HSL 2 is used by

Thalys Thalys (French: ) is a French-Belgian high-speed rail, high-speed train operator originally built around the LGV Nord high-speed line between Gare du Nord, Paris and Brussels-South railway station, Brussels. This track is shared with Eurostar tr ...

and ICE trains as well as fast internal Belgian Railways

InterCity InterCity (commonly abbreviated ''IC'' on timetables and tickets) is the classification applied to certain long-distance passenger train services in Europe. Such trains (in contrast to regional, local, or commuter trains) generally call at m ...

services.

Route

From Brussels South, trains travel northwards over Line 0 through

Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known a ...

and

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north ...

stations. At Schaarbeek the route splits in two; northward bound trains continue over line 25N, line 25,

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

and HSL 4 to the Dutch border, eastward bound trains continue over line 36N, line 2 and line 36 to

and from there over line 37 and HSL 3 and again line 37 to the German border. Between Schaarbeek and

there are four tracks; the two outer tracks, line 36, permit travel at . The two central tracks, line 36N, were planned for direct service and trainsets equipped with ETCS 1 are now allowed to travel at . At Leuven, trains pass through the existing station at . Just outside, HSL 2 proper commences with a speed initially limited to . After the

Bierbeek Bierbeek () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Flemish Brabant. The municipality comprises the towns of Bierbeek proper, Korbeek-Lo, Lovenjoel and Opvelp. On January 1, 2006, Bierbeek had a total population of 9,147. The total ...

tunnel (758 m), maximum speed is increased to alongside the E40 motorway. Over the last few kilometers, curbing away from the E40, speed is limited to . Quitting HSL 2, trains run to Ans station at . Between Ans and Liège-Guillemins station, passenger trains run on the modernised line 36 at a speed of (downwards to Liège) or (EMUs upwards to Ans).

Other

HSL 2 is used by

Thalys PBKA The Thalys PBKA is a TGV variant ordered and operated by Thalys between its namesake cities Paris, Brussels, Cologne (german: Köln) and Amsterdam, forming the abbreviation PBKA. The sets have eight carriages and are long, weighing a total of 3 ...

sets, ICE 3M EMUs on international services, and domestic InterCity services run by sets of Class 18 or Class 13 locomotives with I6, I10 or (mostly) I11 carriages. Trains with the new SNCB Class 18 locomotives appeared on the line. probably in 2010. The DB Velaro D (BR407) was planned to use the route on its way to

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, however these plans have since been shelved due to technical and financial problems, and it is unknown if the units will find use on the current ICE International services from Brussels to Germany. Maintenance bases for the line are situated at

and Ans. The Belgian cabin signaling system TBL 2 has been installed on the HSL 2. It is operated from Block 12 in Brussels. HSL 2 is

standard gauge A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), International gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge and European gauge in Europe, and SGR in E ...

double track A double-track railway usually involves running one track in each direction, compared to a single-track railway where trains in both directions share the same track. Overview In the earliest days of railways in the United Kingdom, most li ...

electrified 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. The broad meaning of the term, such as in the history of technology, economic history ...

at 25 kV, 50 Hz AC.

References

External links

Belrail: info on TBL 2 (in French)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hsl 2 High-speed railway lines in Belgium Railway lines opened in 2002 Standard gauge railways in Belgium 2002 establishments in Belgium lb:LGV Bréissel - Däitsch Grenz

Route

Other

See also

References

External links