History
During the early to mid 2000s, the National Railway Company of Belgium (SNCB/NMBS) was substantially reorganised, partially in order to comply with relevant legislation set out by the European Union; the railway infrastructure management company Infrabel was created in January 2005 as one of several new railway companies established at this time. SNCB continued to exist as an operator of both passenger and freight trains upon the Belgian railway network, while Infrabel took on the construction, modernisation, maintenance, traffic management, and safe operation of the Belgium rail infrastructure. In addition to regular operations, the new entity was quick to involve itself in multiple public–private partnerships to bring about a variety of improvements.[3] One early focus area for investment by Infrabel was the various ports across Belgium, such works were largely focused on electrification, new signalling systems, and the installation of additional tracks to better facilitate intermodal freight movements.[4]
Between 2005 and 2007, the organisation's first two years of operations, Infrabel allocated 27 per cent of its €3.314 billion investment budget into maintenance activities, while 20 per cent was expended on infrastructure expansion. Modernisation efforts at this time included the renovation of existing signal boxes as well as ten separate major projects primarily aimed at capacity expansion.[5] During late 2006, a new communication centre for Belgium's railways, simply referred to as Traffic Control, came into operation, integrating the former national and regional dispatching centres to guide trains through all lines of the Belgian rail network in real time; this involved the phased replacement of aging electromechanical apparatus with computer-controlled EBP-PLP (Elektronische Bedieningspost – Poste à Logique programmée) counterparts that has allowed for a drastic reduction in the number of signal boxes required, from 368 to 31 modern control centres.[6]
In 2010, Infrabel CEO Luc Lallemand publicly voiced his support of new railway operations legislation produced by the European Commission that, amongst other aspects, sought to protect and bolster the independence of rail infrastructure companies from train operators, promote competitiveness, and address insufficient implementation of existing directives.[7] Around this time, the company was stating its corporate strategy to be client-focused and looking towards an increasingly liberalised European railway market; specifically, that its investment in capacity expansion was typically targeted towards areas that clients sought to run additional services. By 2011, international passenger operators on the Belgian railway network included Eurostar, Thalys, and ICE, the latter being operated under licence from SNCB; furthermore, in excess of 200 private companies were using the network to move freight, much of which was going between major logistical hubs at ports.[8]
One of Infrabel's earliest investment programmes was the Diabolo project, which involved the construction of a direct underground rail link to Brussels Airport.[3][9] Started in September 2007, the new line, which was built by the private public partnership company Northern Diabolo NV, was completed in June 2012 at a reported cost of €540 million; the most challenging component of the project was the boring of two tunnel shafts over a distance of 1.07 km while only 6.5 m beneath surface level.[10][11] Another multi-step project was conducted on behalf of the port of Antwerp; initially, €100 million was invested in expanding capacity and the building of 153 km of additional tracks on the left bank of Antwerp. The centrepiece of this work was building a direct rail connection between the left and right banks via a pair of 16.2 km single-track bores underneath the river, referred to as the Liefkenshoek connection.[3][12] During January 2010, boring work commenced on the first of the two tunnels.[13]
During the late 2000s and 2010s, Infrabel undertook the necessary infrastructure work to facilitate the commencement of the Brussels Regional Express Network, a new suburban commuter rail service serving the capital; the project was financed via a separate budget to Infrabel's regular activities.[16] Infrabel was also responsible for delivering the HSL 4 high-speed rail line running between Brussels and the country's northern border with the Netherlands to connect with HSL-Zuid, permitting international high speed train services to be operated between the two countries.[17]
Throughout the 2010s, multiple broad programmes aimed at modernising railway infrastructure were enacted. Specifically, Belgium's overhead electrification, covering 3024 km (roughly 85 per cent) of the 3592 km of rail lines in the Belgian network, was progressive modernised, standardised, and (in some places) converted from 3kV direct current to 25kV (25,000 Volt) alternating current.[18] Infrabel has also been deploying the European Train Control System (ETCS) along strategic corridors, replacing obsolete and less effective signalling apparatus in the process; in August 2015, a €510 million contract to install such equipment along 2200 km of track was issued to Siemens and Cofely-Fabricom.[19] by 2016, the 429 km Antwerp–Athus route has been fully converted, in the process commissioning the longest ETCS railway line on a conventional rail line in Europe.[20] In 2016, it was announced that two additional tracks would be built to expand the capacity of the Brussels–Denderleeuw line, which was the busiest route in Belgium.[21] Furthermore, where reasonable to do so, Infrabel has also been eliminating level crossings, often by building new roads, bridges, or tunnels, with the twin aims of reducing accident rates and improving punctuality.[22]
