Is the Brussels RER debate being overwhelmed?
The RER project is a dream come true for all the municipalities on the outskirts of Brussels, except for Linkebeek, a Flemish municipality which still resists the project. According to Cédric Letier, the alderman for mobility, certain points of the project still raise questions. Two main elements have contributed to an unfavorable opinion, including the need for a carbon balance sheet to effectively explain the expected gains in terms of CO2 and to assess the necessity for four tracks. Some sources suggest that the elements relied on by the municipality are surprising and are delaying a project that will eventually obtain the necessary authorizations. The alderman assures that the objective is not to block the file but to improve it, and that the project is generating debate within the municipal council and among the population.
On the side of Infrabel, they remain confident in the favorable outcome of the file and the need for a four-lane license. The punctuality problems that they experience are linked to interferences between fast trains and slow trains. Two works are in progress to complete the RER project, with the one towards Ottignies progressing very well, and the four-lane sections will be put into service by the end of this year. The line to Nivelles, however, has a blocking point, which is the absence of a four-track permit on the Flemish portion of the line, including Linkebeek and Rhode-Saint-Genèse. The new land use plan could be acquired in January 2024 if no appeal is introduced by then.
Overwhelm the debate?
This is a project that all the municipalities on the outskirts of Brussels dream of seeing completed. All? No ! A Flemish municipality still and always resists the RER project: Linkebeek.
According to Cédric Letier, alderman for mobility of the municipality at ease, certain points of the project still raise questions…
” In fact, the unfavorable opinion is given on two main elements, two questions which have not, to date, obtained answers: the first is to be able to have a study, a carbon balance sheet, which can effectively explain what are the expected gains in terms of co2. And, inevitably, what are the co2 expenses on the site.
The idea is to be able to completely dispassionate the debate and to have an objective answer on the merits of the RER project.
The second element is to be able to ensure the need for the 4 channels. At the origin of the file, for the installation of the RER, more than twenty years ago, in 1999, as soon as studies were carried out which showed that the RER could be made on 3 tracks, the decision was taken to carry out the RER on four tracks, today our request is to be able to update these studies and to have an understanding by saying that the modes of transport have evolved, the needs have evolved and above all the technologies have evolved and light of all this, to assess whether the four tracks are still necessary or can the RER project work just as well, perhaps even faster, perhaps better and at a lower cost, on two or three tracks. “
Some sources close to the case, however, consider that the elements relied on by the municipality to issue this unfavorable opinion are surprising and that they would only delay a project which will sooner or later end up obtaining the necessary authorizations.
However, the alderman assures him, for the municipality of Linkebeek, it is not a question of blocking the file:
” The proof of this is that, alongside the elements that led to the unfavorable opinion, in the opinion issued by the municipality, there is also a whole series of proposals that have been made to improve the file. Improve the landscape integration of the file, the accessibility of the stations, the circulation in and around the stations… So the objective is really not to block the file but to improve it […] It is a project that is generating debate within the municipal council but also within the population. The objective of our questions is really to go beyond this debate for or against and to be able to objectify with calculation methods that are now known, recognized and in which everyone can trust to justify the interest. of this project “.
A four-lane license within the next year
On the side of Infrabel, we remain confident in the favorable outcome of the file, while recalling the need for the site.
Frédéric Sacré, spokesperson for the Belgian railway infrastructure manager, explains:
” We are part of an administrative process which, we hope, we are confident, will lead to the granting of a four-lane permit within the next year. This four-laning is necessary because traffic flows must be separated. This is the very principle of the RER: to have fast trains on the two central tracks and “S” trains which mark the stops on the side tracks. Today, there are big punctuality problems that we encounter and which are linked to these interferences between the fast trains and the slower trains “.
At present, there are only two works in progress to complete the RER project, further specifies the spokesperson: ” The RER project included five axes around Brussels; there are two still under construction today: the one towards Ottignies where the work is progressing, they are progressing very well, there is no longer a permit problem there and we will gradually put four-lane sections in service. The first will be at the end of this year between Ottignies and the junction towards Louvain-la-Neuve. With regard to the line to Nivelles, there is a blocking point at this stage, which is in fact the absence of a four-track permit on the Flemish portion of the line, in other words on the territory of the municipalities of Linkebeek and Rhode-Saint-Genèse, since it must be remembered, it is the regions which issue the permits for four-laning. But between Nivelles and Brussels, there are no more permit problems, neither on the Brussels portion, nor on the Walloon portion. “.
Theoretically, the new land use plan (submitted by the Flemish Region which has the competence) could be acquired in January 2024. If no appeal is introduced by then… Enough to push back, a little more , putting the Brussels RER on track.
The debate surrounding the completion of the RER project continues, with the municipality of Linkebeek remaining the lone holdout. While certain elements of the project are still under scrutiny, both sides remain confident of a positive outcome. Infrabel continues to stress the need for the four-lane permit, which is yet to be acquired in the Flemish portion of the line. However, there is hope that the acquisition will go through by January 2024, if no appeal is lodged. The ultimate goal of all parties involved is to improve the project and ensure its success, moving beyond the current debates and disagreements.