duesselmartin
Established Member
Sadly now a push pull set.Yes - some pleasant scenery on the old line. And the remaining service from Welkenraedt over the border was itself somewhat - ahem - historic last time I used it.
Sadly now a push pull set.Yes - some pleasant scenery on the old line. And the remaining service from Welkenraedt over the border was itself somewhat - ahem - historic last time I used it.
You mean thankfully. Those old units were utterly rancid.Sadly now a push pull set.
The old two car trains do not reign supreme any more. From 10th December a new RE29 from Aachen to Liege St Lambert was introduced scheduled to use Class 18 + 4 x I11 carriages. Although this was short lived as the old Cassic units have returned to the service.Yes - some pleasant scenery on the old line. And the remaining service from Welkenraedt over the border was itself somewhat - ahem - historic last time I used it.
The confuse the tourist winner has to be Braine-le-Comte/'s-Gravelbraken. Honorary mention to Mons/Bergen.Forgot to say. Mamy places in Belgium have 2 names. One Flemish, one French. So Tournai is Doornik. And some places also have English names. And others also have German names.
And Belgian French isnt the same as French French. Especially numbers. No quatre vingt dix in BE!
Forgot to say. Mamy places in Belgium have 2 names. One Flemish, one French. So Tournai is Doornik. And some places also have English names. And others also have German names.
And Belgian French isnt the same as French French. Especially numbers. No quatre vingt dix in BE!
AFAIK one of the 3 compositions Liège-Aachen still runs with an old unit.The old two car trains do not reign supreme any more. From 10th December a new RE29 from Aachen to Liege St Lambert was introduced scheduled to use Class 18 + 4 x I11 carriages. Although this was short lived as the old Cassic units have returned to the service.
If you go to the far east of Belgium, the branch to Spa is an interesting side trip.
Gent St Pieters is an impressive station, though not as spectacular as Antwerp Centraal. And on the coast Knokke has a good Art Deco station, rather reminiscent of the Southern Railway.
Not to mention Lille/Rijsel!The confuse the tourist winner has to be Braine-le-Comte/'s-Gravelbraken. Honorary mention to Mons/Bergen.
I was in Aachen last weekend and saw a really clunky old SNCB unit there awaiting departure to liege.AFAIK one of the 3 compositions Liège-Aachen still runs with an old unit.
The scaffolding was removed recently, after the new platform for tracks 7/8 was completed. I heard they're not going to use these stairs anymore for the rest of the platforms.Note that for years now, parts of Gent StP station have been a building site, revamping/expanding the platforms bit by bit. A year or so back, passenger access to one of the platforms was by a stairway which was little more than bits of scaffolding.
I use Gent SP to get to work and every few weeks they make changes to the pedestrian routes through the station. Although they're quite good at keeping the station usable.Though yes, the main old entrance area is rather fine, with the building works affecting various part of the pedestrian routes under the platforms, and not the main entrance.
Good question... maybe the 3D impression here sheds some light over that?(Though I wonder whether there'll still be level access to the main under-platform cross-passage when the works are finished; it looks like the revamped main cross-passage will end up being lower than the entrance hall.)
There are small differences indeed. Also, Dutch in Belgium is called Dutch.Forgot to say. Mamy places in Belgium have 2 names. One Flemish, one French. So Tournai is Doornik. And some places also have English names. And others also have German names.
And Belgian French isnt the same as French French. Especially numbers. No quatre vingt dix in BE!
3 week ago it was loco hauled. It seemed to have difficulty on the Aachen incline. So it seems to be hit and miss.I was in Aachen last weekend and saw a really clunky old SNCB unit there awaiting departure to liege.
That would be very strange. The same locomotives were also used for the Nightjet trains, which are a lot longer and heavier.3 week ago it was loco hauled. It seemed to have difficulty on the Aachen incline. So it seems to be hit and miss.
The scaffolding was removed recently, after the new platform for tracks 7/8 was completed. I heard they're not going to use these stairs anymore for the rest of the platforms.
I use Gent SP to get to work and every few weeks they make changes to the pedestrian routes through the station. Although they're quite good at keeping the station usable.
Good question... maybe the 3D impression here sheds some light over that?
I think you mean flemish is BE is called Dutch. Netherlands people regard it as a defective dialect.There are small differences indeed. Also, Dutch in Belgium is called Dutch.
It looks like you know other Dutch people than I do... (BTW I'm Dutch and have lived in Belgium for quite some years now.)I think you mean flemish is BE is called Dutch. Netherlands people regard it as a defective dialect.
It would be more accurate to say that Dutch in Belgium is called Vlaams (Flemish).I think you mean flemish is BE is called Dutch. Netherlands people regard it as a defective dialect.
At Bruxelles Midi, on the direction signs, the French is above the 'Dutch'
At Brussel Noord the Dutch is above the French
At Centraal they swap them around each year
Nope. That's why I included a link to the website of the Belgian government. Belgium specifically opted to have Dutch as the (then) second national language and not something else. We shouldn't try to know it better.It would be more accurate to say that Dutch in Belgium is called Vlaams (Flemish).
Without wishing to prolong this unduly, we’re not talking about ’something else’ - it’s the same language whatever you call it. And my experience from living in Belgium is that the locals call it Vlaams.Nope. That's why I included a link to the website of the Belgian government. Belgium specifically opted to have Dutch as the (then) second national language and not something else. We shouldn't try to know it better.
But we're getting off-topic, I think.
I'm afraid there's plenty of disagreement about that point. For example the US State Dept identifies them as separate languages when assessing the need for staff being posted overseas needing instruction beforehand. And having spent time in the Netherlands I was able to pickup a good deal of Dutch and to this day can understand it reasonably well. But Flemish is rather challenging to my ears. For native speakers from both places the two are mutually intelligible and the differences in usage are relatively few. And to muddy the waters further there are many in the south and east of the Netherlands who say the way their language is spoken in the Randstad (Amsterdam-Den Haag-Rotterdam-Utrecht-Amsterdam "circle") is becoming gradually different too. Ultimately it's not worth getting too excited about but still worth respecting the fact that differences do exist.Without wishing to prolong this unduly, we’re not talking about ’something else’ - it’s the same language whatever you call it. And my experience from living in Belgium is that the locals call it Vlaams.
The east and south of the Netherlands have dialects more widely spoken among locals. In the west people from various regions are much more mixed up and dialects are less present (but do exist). For me, the difference between my place of birth (Dordrecht, just below Rotterdam) and Amersfoort where I live now is clearly audible.And to muddy the waters further there are many in the south and east of the Netherlands who say the way their language is spoken in the Randstad (Amsterdam-Den Haag-Rotterdam-Utrecht-Amsterdam "circle") is becoming gradually different too.
The usage of languages by the authorities (and public enterprises) is defined by law. Announcements have to be done in the language(s) of the region. In Eupen (and Hergenrath , but I can't recall any announcements there), German needs to be used first, and then French, because it's a municipality with language facilities. In the very few cases that I've heard an announcement in the train between Welkenraedt and Eupen, it was indeed in German and French. English (or other non-national languages) can be used, but all national languages (Dutch, French, German) then need to be used first, in the correct order of course. Brussels is the only bilingual region and there Dutch and French need to be used as a minimum; the order is as described in post #47.Regarding the use of Flemish and French, on the Eupen - Oostende train which I used between Welkenraedt and Bruxelles the order of the languages in announcements changed at different stations. I'm not sure if they alternated the languages at each stop or used the majority language at individual stations. Do they also make announcements in German at Eupen which is in the German speaking area of Belgium?
I have been coming to Belgium, Gent in particular, at least three times a year since 1987. I really cannot recall any time when they haven’t been doing something to Sint Pieters station.
In my opinion, the most scenic line is from Liege to Luxembourg; the nicest small place to visit is Thuin (which has a preserved tramway); the best rail-accessible walk is from Hergenrath to Aachen (visiting three countries and Netherlands’ highest point); and the best city by miles is, of course, Gent.
And all my Belgian friends say they speak Dutch, not Flemish.
Perhaps they're from Limburg (not a historical part of the former county of Flanders) and speak a Limburg dialect of Dutch, not Flemish (or indeed the language of Limburgish, which is a bit like a cross between Low German and Dutch).Re "all my Belgian friends say they speak Dutch not Flemish" - is that because they're explaining it in English?
The three-country point is about 100 metres or so from the highest point. I hired a bike in Aachen, and went to the 3CP, down to the impressive Montzen viaduct on the freight line that tunnels under the 3CP, then across to Hergenrath for a train back to Aachen.Is that hill where the 3 countries meet really the highest point in the Netherlands?