EU to fund Brussels rail tunnel link

The European Union (EU) has awarded a €34 million grant to support construction works on a rail link in Brussels as part of a wider investment plan for a high-speed corridor linking the city with Strasbourg.

Under the 2012 TEN-T Multi-Annual Call, the EU will support ongoing works on the Schuman-Josaphat tunnel in Brussels.

Construction work began in 2008 on the 1.3-kilometre tunnel. Once commisioned in 2015, the tunnel will improve links between the city’s European Quarter and the airport, and provide passengers from Mechelen, Hasselt, Leuven and Liege with a direct link to the city’s economic hub.

As well as improving rail links around the city – a programme known as the Regional Express Network – the funding will help complete an element of the high-speed Eurocaprail route between Brussels and Strasbourg via Luxembourg.

The money will be used to fund tunnel civil works, the extension of the Schuman multi-modal hub and construction work between the Watermael and Etterbeek stations.




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