Speed is no longer the obsession of train operators. After the slow Ouigo, cheap classic trains or the return of night trains, SNCF says it is considering the return of a classic link between Paris and Brussels with SNCB, its Belgian counterpart, by the end of 2024.
Today, only Eurostar, which bought the Thalys brand (doomed to disappear in 2023), offers to reach the Belgian capital with a high-speed train. This represents a certain cost for travelers. Such travel with a conventional train would make it possible to offer lower fares in exchange for longer travel time.
Several daily round trips.
“This new alternative to road transport, with a journey time intermediate between highway and high-speed rail, would offer commuters multiple daily round trips. The trip would be operated with conventional trains (locomotives and cars) adapted to international traffic”, explain the two operators.
SNCF and SNCB, which ensure that “the ambition is to allow the greatest number of travelers to make this international trip with the best possible duration and at a competitive price”, have communicated their intention to operate this new service to their respective railway regulator.
For the record, remember that Paris and Brussels were the first European capitals connected by train in 1846.
Source: BFM TV
