HSL 2

The HSL 2 (French: Ligne à Grande Vitesse (LGV) 2, Dutch: Hogesnelheidslijn 2, English: High-Speed Line 2) is a Belgian high-speed rail line between Leuven and Ans. 64 km (40 mi) long, all of it on dedicated high-speed tracks, which began service on 15 December 2002. As part of the Belgian railway network, it is owned, technically operated and maintained by Infrabel.

Now the extension to the German border is complete (the HSL 3), the fastest journey time between Brussels South and Cologne Central Station is 1 hour and 47 minutes. HSL 2 is used by Thalys and ICE trains as well as fast internal Belgian Railways InterCity services.

Route

From Brussels South, trains travel northwards over Line 0 through Central and North stations. At Schaarbeek the route splits in two; northward bound trains continue over line 25N, line 25, Antwerp and HSL 4 to the Dutch border, eastward bound trains continue over line 36N, line 2 and line 36 to Liège and from there over line 37 and HSL 3 and again line 37 to the German border. Between Schaarbeek and Leuven there are four tracks; the two outer tracks, line 36, permit travel at 160 km/h (99 mph). The two central tracks, line 36N, were planned for 200 km/h (124 mph) direct service and trainsets equipped with ETCS 1 are now allowed to travel at 200 km/h (124 mph).