Information:
Version 1.1 of Antwerpen Brussel now includes Belgian Signals.
General info about the history of this route:
Railroadcompany: NMBS-SNCB
Routelength: 57 km
Lines: L00 : 2,6 km L25 : 43,8 km L27 : 40 km ( 90% parallel with
L25) L161: 10 km (incomplete)
Allowed Speeds:
In the present condition of the railroads (anno 2002/2003) L00 : 40 and 50 km/h L25 : 140 km/h, 160 km/h
between Kontich and Berchem. At the end the speedlimit of 160 km/h will
be possible for the entire line. L27 : 120 km/u, fly-overs 90 km/u. Fly-overs
are at Sint-Katlijne Waver, Mechelen Zuid and Haren L161: 130 km/u.
Operational Procedures: * Trains drive in Belgium on the left track
! * Maximum allowed speed for trackchange is 40 km/h, 60 km/h at Berchem
Zuid, Kontich, Sint-Katlijne Waver and Vilvoorde.
* Passengertrains have priority over freighttrains.
History:
On may 5th 1835 the first railroad was build on the European
Continent. It was the Belgian line which connected Brussels with Mechelen
and 1 year later on may 3th 1836 the part to Antwerpen-Centraal was added.
The station is still there and is part of the cultural heritage. Exactly
100 year after the first trainrun the line was electrified. This happened
on may 5th 1935 and they used 3kv DC.
Later L27 was added which connected
Berchem with Brussels, this line is electrified since 1950. L25 is used
for passengers and L27 was intended for freighttrains only but due to
increasing demand for passengers, more and more passengertrains drive
on L27. Among them the Thalys which is not technicaly capable of driving
on L25. L25 does not allow freighttrains but it happens sometimes.
At this moment Antwerpen-Centraal is under reconstruction for the High
Speed Line (HSL) Amsterdam-Brussels. Once it is completed it will have
3 floors within the classical building. In the route only a few tracks
are available in Antwerpen-Centraal like in reality. Close to Antwerpen-Centraal
is Antwerpen-Berchem, trains to Essen, Gent, Oostende and Lier leave from
this station. It is a largly urban area, only after Kontich you will find
an agricultural area. After Sint- Katlijne-Waver you enter the area of
Mechelen. But the transition between Antwerpen and Mechelen is not longer
visible. Between Mechelen and Vilvoorde you find more farms (and a higher
fps) After Vilvoorde you find the Schaarbeek yards, one of the largest
yards made for MSTS. After Schaarbeek station you enter Brussels, you
enter first Brussels-North where L25 and L27 cease to excist and L0 start,
this is the North-South Connection. This line is 2.6km long, has 6 tracks
and belongs to the busiest railroads in the world. Brussels has 5 stations,
Brussels-North, Brussels-Congres, Brussels-Central, Brussels-Kapellekerk
and Brussel-South (Midi). From Brussels-South the HST trains leave to
Germany (Thalys: Köln), France (TGV/Thalys: Paris, Nice), UK (Eurstar:
London) and the Netherlands (Benelux via L25, Thalys via L27 to Amsterdam).
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