The HSL 4 ( nl, Hogesnelheidslijn 4, french: Ligne à Grande Vitesse 4, en, High-Speed Line 4) 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 part of the 87 kilometres (54 miles) axis which connects Antwerp to the

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

border. It is 40 kilometres long (24 miles); 36 kilometres (22 miles) of it being dedicated high speed tracks. It was scheduled for completion by 2005 and opened in 2009. Together with the

HSL 1 The HSL 1 (french: Ligne à Grande Vitesse (LGV) 1, nl, Hogesnelheidslijn 1, en, High-Speed Line 1) is a high-speed rail line which connects Brussels, Belgium, with the LGV Nord at the Belgium–France border. It is long with of dedicated hig ...

to the French border and

HSL-Zuid The HSL-Zuid ( nl, Hogesnelheidslijn Zuid, en, High-speed Line South), is a 125 kilometre-long (78 miles) Dutch high-speed railway line running between the Amsterdam metropolitan area and the Belgian border, with a branch to Breda, North ...

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

, the line has shortened journeys between

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

and the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. HSL 4 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 ...

trains and

Eurostar e320 The British Rail Class 374, also referred to as the Eurostar e320, is a type of electric multiple unit passenger train used on Eurostar services through the Channel Tunnel to serve destinations beyond the core routes to Paris and Brussels. The ...

trains. It was used by fast internal InterCity trains ( Class 13 locomotives with I11 vehicles) and by

Fyra Fyra (pronounced ) was an international high-speed rail service between the Netherlands and Belgium using the AnsaldoBreda V250 train. The service used the HSL-Zuid and HSL 4 railway lines to connect Amsterdam, Schiphol Airport, Rotterdam, Antwer ...

until the cancellation of the service. This service is replaced by the

Intercity Direct Intercity Direct is a Dutch higher-speed train service operating on the HSL-Zuid, connecting Amsterdam Centraal to Schiphol Airport, Rotterdam Centraal and Breda. Intercity Direct replaced the Fyra brand as of December 2013; it is part of NS ...

. It is also tentatively planned to be used by DB Baureihe 407 trains.

Route

The high-speed HSL 4 begins just north of Antwerp (near Luchtbal), and runs 36 km where it meets the Dutch border.

From Brussels to Antwerp

Though HSL4 begins in Antwerp, it is part of a Paris-Brussels-Amsterdam corridor. High speed trains like Thalys, upon departing Brussels for Amsterdam, first use the existing, conventional track, electrified at 3 kV DC. From Brussels South station, trains travel northwards through the Brussels-Central and Brussels-North stations. At Schaarbeek the line splits in two; the eastern branch continues to Liège and the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

border, the northern branch towards Antwerp and the

border. Between

and Antwerp (47 kilometres), trains travel at 160 kilometres per hour on line 25N and then the upgraded existing line 25 (with the exception of a few segments where a speed limit of 100–120 km/h is imposed).

From Antwerp north

In Antwerp, a

tunnel A tunnel is an underground passageway, dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, and enclosed except for the entrance and exit, commonly at each end. A pipeline is not a tunnel, though some recent tunnels have used immersed tube cons ...

has been constructed underneath the city to permit high-speed trains to run directly through Antwerpen-Centraal to the new high-speed line north, an extension of line 25 until

Antwerpen-Luchtbal railway station Antwerp-Luchtbal is a railway station in the north of the city of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium. The station opened on 1 February 1932 on the Antwerp–Lage Zwaluwe railway, known in Belgium as Line 12; Line 27A, a freight line to the port of Antwe ...

, after which line 4 (HSL 4) starts. Trains enter the 1.5-kilometre long, two-tube tunnel past Berchem at 90 kilometres per hour. They exit the tunnel at 40 km/hour, it seems due to stability and infiltration concerns. The line surfaces at Antwerpen-Dam as line 25, and after crossing the

Albert Canal The Albert Canal (, ) is a canal located in northeastern Belgium, which was named for King Albert I of Belgium. The Albert Canal connects Antwerp with Liège, and also the Meuse river with the Scheldt river. It also connects with the Dessel� ...

crosses Crosses may refer to: * Cross, the symbol Geography * Crosses, Cher, a French municipality * Crosses, Arkansas, a small community located in the Ozarks of north west Arkansas Language * Crosses, a truce term used in East Anglia and Lincolnshire ...

the existing Antwerp-Essen line at 120 km/h. At the E19/A12 motorway junction, trains

leave Leave may refer to: * Permission (disambiguation) ** Permitted absence from work *** Leave of absence, a period of time that one is to be away from one's primary job while maintaining the status of employee *** Annual leave, allowance of time away ...

the regular line to run on new dedicated high-speed tracks to the Dutch border (40 kilometres away) at up to 300 kilometres per hour. The route parallels the E19 motorway until the border, which has required the building of several bridges. The line passes through

Schoten Schoten () is a municipality located in Antwerp Province, Belgium. The municipality only comprises the town of Schoten proper. As of 1 January 2020 Schoten has a total population of 34,311. The total area is which gives a population density of ...

Brasschaat Brasschaat () is a municipality located in Flanders, one of the three regions of Belgium, and in the Flemish province of Antwerp. The municipality only comprises the town of Brasschaat proper. In November 2006, Brasschaat won the LivCom-Award 200 ...

Brecht Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), known professionally as Bertolt Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet. Coming of age during the Weimar Republic, he had his first successes as a p ...

, Wuustwezel, and

Hoogstraten Hoogstraten () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises Hoogstraten, Meer, Meerle, Meersel-Dreef, Minderhout and Wortel (Meersel-Dreef includes the northernmost point in Belgium). Hoogstrate ...

, before crossing the border into the

and connecting to the Dutch

Stations

Antwerpen-Centraal station has been completely reorganised. A tunnel has been constructed to permit the passage of trains under the city, additionally creating a subterranean junction between Antwerpen-Berchem and , passing through Antwerpen-Centraal. With these works completed, the station has four levels and 14 tracks: *level +1 (the original station) has 6 terminating tracks, arranged as two groups of three (line 59/1 to Ghent and line 12 to the depot, workshop and cleaning station in Antwerp-Schijnpoort) separated by an opening allowing natural light to reach the lower levels *level 0 contains ticketing facilities and commercial space *level −1 (7 meters below road level) has 4 terminating tracks, also arranged as two groups (line 27 to Brussels, for services terminating in Antwerp). *level −2 (18 meters below road level) has 4 tracks, which end up in the two-track-wide tunnel under the city (used by high-speed, InterCity and local passenger trains between the North and South of Antwerp — freight trains go around the East of Antwerp on line 27A to the harbour) The HSL 4 is the only high-speed line in Belgium that features an intermediate station at Noorderkempen (municipality

Brecht, Belgium Brecht () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises the towns of Brecht proper, Sint-Job-in-'t-Goor and . In 2021, Brecht had a total population of 29,809. The total area is 90.84 km². Brecht i ...

) for use in regular speed passenger service.

Tunnel Peerdsbos ('Solar Tunnel')

The line features a 'Solar Tunnel' near Antwerp. The above-ground tunnel Peerdsbos is comparable to an

avalanche gallery Avalanche control or avalanche defense activities reduce the hazard avalanches pose to human life, activity, and property.Europe’s first “green” train leaves the station thanks to Belgium’s Solar Tunnel
June 6, 2011

External links

Belgian high-speed rail site

References

{{High-speed railway lines High-speed railway lines in Belgium Railway lines opened in 2009 Standard gauge railways in Belgium Rail transport in Brussels Rail transport in Antwerp