HSL 4

HSL 4
The HSL 4 and HSL-Zuid rail lines
Overview
Status	Operational
Locale	Belgium
Termini	Antwerpen-Luchtbal railway station Dutch border
Operation
Opened	2009
Operator(s)	National Railway Company of Belgium
Technical
Line length	36 km (22 mi)
No. of tracks	double track
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) Standard gauge
Electrification	25 kV 50 Hz
Route map Legend Line from Antwerp and Brussels 47.6 Antwerpen-Luchtbal 48.1 Line to Roosendaal 67.7 Noorderkempen 84.0 54.5 Border Belgium / Netherlands HSL-Zuid to Rotterdam

The HSL 4 (Dutch: Hogesnelheidslijn 4, English: High-Speed Line 4) is a Belgian high-speed rail line which connects Brussels to the Dutch border. 87 km long (40 km dedicated high speed tracks, 57 km modernised lines), it was scheduled for completion by 2007.

Together with the HSL 1 to the French border and HSL-Zuid to Amsterdam, the line has shortened journeys between Brussels, Paris and the Netherlands. HSL 4 is used by Thalys trains, and is also planned to be used by fast internal InterCity and NS Hispeed trains.

Contents 1 Route 2 Stations 3 See also 4 External links

Route

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 border, the northern branch towards Antwerp and the Dutch border. Between Brussels and Antwerp (47 kilometres), trains travel at 160 kilometres per hour on the upgraded existing line (with the exception of a few segments where a speed limit of 120 km/h is imposed).

In Antwerp, a tunnel has been constructed underneath the city to permit high-speed trains to run directly through Antwerpen-Centraal station to the new high-speed line north of the city. Trains enter the 1.5-kilometre long, two-tube tunnel at 90 kilometres per hour.

The line returns to the surface at Antwerpen-Dam station, and after crossing the Albert Canal, joins the existing Antwerp-Essen line. At the E19/A12 motorway junction, trains leave 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, Brasschaat, Brecht, Wuustwezel, and Hoogstraten, before crossing the border into the Netherlands and connecting to the Dutch HSL-Zuid.

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 Berchem station and Antwerpen-Dam station, 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 and 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
• 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 trains and fast InterCity services)

The HSL 4 will also be the only high-speed line in Belgium that features an intermediate station at Noorderkempen (Brecht) for use in regular speed passenger service.

See also

• High-speed rail in Belgium

External links

• Belgian high-speed rail site (French)

High-speed railway lines Africa Morocco Casablanca—Tangier East Asia Japan Kyushu Sanyō Tōkaidō Jōetsu Nagano Tōhoku China Beijing-Shanghai Qinhuangdao–Shenyang Hefei–Nanjing Beijing–Tianjin Qingdao–Jinan Shijiazhuang–Taiyuan Hefei–Wuhan Ningbo–Taizhou–Wenzhou Wenzhou–Fuzhou Wuhan–Guangzhou Zhengzhou–Xi'an Fuzhou–Xiamen Chengdu–Dujiangyan Shanghai–Nanjing Nanchang–Jiujiang Shanghai–Hangzhou Hainan Eastern Ring Changchun–Jilin South Korea Gyeongbu HSR Taiwan Taipei–Kaohsiung Europe Belgium HSL 1 HSL 2 HSL 3 HSL 4 France LGV Sud-Est LGV Est LGV Atlantique LGV Rhône-Alpes LGV Nord LGV Interconnexion Est LGV Méditerranée Perpignan-Figueres Germany Cologne–Düren Cologne–Frankfurt Hanover–Würzburg Mannheim–Stuttgart Rastatt–Offenburg Wolfsburg–Berlin Nuremberg–Ingolstadt Italy Turin–Milan Milan–Bologna Bologna–Florence Florence–Rome Rome–Naples Naples–Salerno Netherlands HSL-Zuid Norway Gardermoen Line Spain Madrid–Barcelona Madrid–Sevilla Córdoba–Malaga Madrid–Valladolid Madrid–Toledo Figueres–Perpignan Madrid–Valencia Motilla–Albacete Turkey Sincan–Eskişehir Polatlı–Konya United Kingdom High Speed 1 Middle East Iraq Baghdad–Basra (proposed line) North America United States Northeast Corridor