In a joint letter in January, François Bausch, Minister for Mobility and Public Works, and his Belgian counterpart Georges Gilkinet, made an appeal to the EU Commission to mobilise funding for the Brussels-Luxembourg railway line as part of an investment plan for a sustainable Europe.
The hope is to reduce journey times on lines 161 and 162. Trips between the two cities take upwards of three hours and are often subject to delays.
Responding to Bausch and Gilkinet's letter, Timmermans and transport commissioner Adina Vălean state that "this project can be an example of our infrastructure development policy at European level". The Commission recognises the importance of the project and of modernizing rail lines as part of broader plans for a European Green Deal.
To kick-start the project, the Commission plans to set up a working group to look at the project in the context of current infrastructure needs and service limitations.
Responding to Timmermans and Vălean's letter, Bausch and Gilkinet are optimistic that progress can now be made with the project:
"We welcome this positive response from the Commission and we hope that it will lead to the granting of additional resources for the finalization of this work. [The project] is indeed important not only for the travellers concerned but also for our two countries, since it will make it possible, beyond Luxembourg, to improve international links to the east of France, even Germany, Switzerland and Italy. It is a major boost in the pursuit of European infrastructure, which is why it is so important to us!"
