Luxembourg's Ministry of Sustainable Development and Infrastructure has announced that in relation to an agreement to promote rail travel between Luxembourg and Belgium on 1 December 2017 has been a great success.
The agreement provided for the introduction of a much cheaper cross-border subscription on the routes of 21 Belgian railway stations to Luxembourg, with a view to promoting the use of the train. The subsequent loss of income to SNCB has been borne by the Luxembourg state. In return, Belgium provides free parking for users on all P+R stations in the region around the border with Luxembourg.
Since 1 December 2017, SNCB has reported a 20% increase in users and the P+R car park near Arlon station, with a capacity of 755 places, is currently filled to 95% capacity. In addition, among the new users of the car park, one in every two customers is a new customer of public transport.
Minister Francois Bausch has welcomed the success of the joint action plan, and stated "I am very pleased that these measures have borne fruit. A 20% growth of train users and a large number of new customers mean that our road network is offloaded. In my opinion, the next step must be the construction of Viville's P+R facility. This car park has huge potential and can be built quickly, to allow commissioning in 2021. It will make a significant contribution to decluttering the roads between Belgium and Luxembourg."
