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A new four-lane stretch between Brussels and Denderleeuw was officially inaugurated Wednesday morning by Prime Minister Charles Michel, Federal Mobility Minister François Bellot and the CEOs of SNCB and Infrabel Sophie Dutordoir and Luc Lallemand. Put into service on December 9th when SNCB's new transport plan is implemented, this infrastructure will close the RER works in Flanders, which are 99% complete. There are only a few technical operations left on the border between Flanders and Brussels, according to Infrabel, manager of the Belgian rail infrastructure.
With this four-lane stretch of a 15-kilometer section between Anderlecht and Lombeek-Sainte-Catherine (Ternat, East Flanders), the busiest line 50a in the country is seeing its capacity increase. This project represents an investment of 540 million euros. Work began in April 2008. At the end of January 2016, the two new lanes dedicated to RER traffic between Brussels and Denderleeuw were carried out (line 50C).
In Wallonia, work will (finally) resume
If this dragged in Wallonia, it is because of the riparians had gone to court to oppose certain building sites. But everything seems to be in order. Planning permits that have not yet been awarded and that prevented resumption of four-lane work on the line 124 Brussels-Nivelles will be finally in January, announced Wednesday the Federal Minister of Mobility, François Bellot. The first RER section to Walloon Brabant should be operational in 2025 towards Ottignies. The four-lane line to Nivelles should be inaugurated in 2031.
The work of the RER towards Ottignies is progressing well, estimates the CEO of Infrabel Luc Lallemand. These resumed on March 28th. "The works are easier to do because the base of the line is already placed." For the line 124 Brussels-Nivelles, work should resume next January. These should last longer because the civil engineering work has not been done yet. Infrabel always evokes the date of 2031 for its inauguration.
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