PDFs of the 9 maps can be found here: https://hilario.bambooradical.com/benelux/
Made with Affinity Designer 2.
These maps are quite info-dense, and are more aimed at non-locals who like to be info-dumped. (These maps are not aimed at the "general public".) The stacking of lines is less nice, but unstacking them would majorly increase the paper size needed, making overviewing of the lines much harder / requiring a lot more scrolling.
The info shown are based on the current data from the NMBS-SNCB journey planner (which sometimes do not match those in the printed timetables). I can change the maps quite quickly if you tell me any typo / error that you see. I update these maps a few times during the year.
dankjewel / merci beaucoup / danke schön!
Great work thanks!
☺️😁 cheers
Looks amazing. I'm personally not a fan of overlapping a stopping service directly over an express. Why did you make that decision other than to save space?
Cheers ☺️. For people like me, having to scroll the screen a lot more to follow a line is much worse.
Another example of how if it isn't in the Flemish diamond, it just doesn't exist. West-Flanders basically has trains to make sure people from Antwerp-Ghent-Brussels can get to the coast for a relaxing weekend.
Yet people in Luxembourg, Namur, Limburg pay exactly the same taxes for a non-existant service. Where are the trains to Maastricht that don't take 2 hours because they have to pass Liège. To Eindhoven from Lommel and Turnhout. From Namur to Charleville?
There's way more people in the big cities --> more taxes.
No. I pay exactly the same taxes. Exactly the same percentage of that goes to fund the NMBS. Every cent somebody in Antwerp pays, I also pay. The difference is I get fuck all in return. And that goes for a whole lot more than just public transport.
You're turning it around. The cost of construction and maintenance per user in sparsely populated areas is much higher. A kilometer of track between Ghent and Brussels costs 1 euro per user, while it's 10 euros between two cities (fictitious figures). It actually costs taxpayers more to provide those more "remote" areas with sewerage, electricity, public transport, and so on.
The track in hamont is there. But if you don't put any service there, you'll have zero paying customers. But since there is 1 transport train a day, you still need to spend that money on maintenance!
People have to take the car to Weert and take the train there, where they do manage to provide decent train service.
Meanwhile you spend a billion euros on Luik and Bergen train station to get it designed by a famous artist/architect. But you have no money left to invest in the hundreds of train stations that might pass through there, so that's how you loose customers.
FYI if it was about number of customers: Bergen has about 9400 travelers per day, Ottignies around 22000. Yet they spend all the money on Bergen. https://www.vrt.be/vrtnws/nl/2024/12/17/treinstation-bergen-opening/
I remember the buses for all of those cross-border trajectories that you mentioned.
Unfortunately the governments involved seem to not have been very active in rebuilding those much-needed cross border rail lines... and I don't know which side is more to blame...
You pay the exact same taxes. But your province/town does not.
Per capita you pay the same, but in total you pay much less.
You pay the same relative amount in taxes, but if on average, in your area, salaries are lower, economic activity is more spread out, and population is power, then as a region you pay less tax. And it's the job of your representatives to argue to use tax money in your interest.
It doesn't take a genius to understand that trains between big cities will be more valuable than trains between small cities or towns. Both are necessary but train infrastructure is expensive.
Investment brings development. Certainly more than a half a billion cycle bridge in Antwerp will.
Maaseik-Maasmechelen-Lanaken alone are more than 100k inhabitants with the closest rail link in Genk (at least 40 minutes by bus away) where you get one train an hour in a city of 65k inhabitants, 25th nationwide. Again no mention of a second train an hour in the plans from NMBS for the coming years.
Nobody is asking for 15 minute services between Zichen-Zussen-Bolder and Kuttekoven. They are asking for more than a token service in a province where 1/6th of the Flemish population lives.
I'm not disagreeing with you on the principle that effective public transport to every town and city is important. Only about your statement about taxes and distribution thereof.
This map made me realize that they need to fix the train problem that is brussel and build more capacity that goes around the capital instead of through it.
Yeah... "nearly everything" is jammed into the Brussels North-South tunnel... :(
They're doing exactly this with the GEN. Many trains still pass through Brussels but try to avoid the North-South connection. It also does not make that much sense to skip a major population center when your train passes through there.
Shut up and take my upvote!
☺️ blush
I think "Antorf" is really old fashioned and isn't really used anymore in German today (I rather associate it with the first and second world war occupations); the normal German name is now "Antwerpen". Nice maps, though! I cannot even imagine the amount of work you must have put into this.
Thanks ☺️ Good point; I'll think about the old place names that have since "moved on".
This is generally fine and it looks good.
But does anybody know if Belgian passengers can now take the Eurocity Direct between Brussels and Antwerp? It's a bit of a joke on our own country that there is no possibility to buy a ticket for this train, except by buying a cross-border ticket.
https://www.knack.be/nieuws/belgie/de-nieuwe-amsterdamtrein-lijkt-wel-een-hollandse-belgenmop/
Very cool map!
Cheers ☺️🤗
That is bloody beautiful!
Thank you 😊 *blush*
Wow, that's so cool! And so much detail, like the OV checkout being available at the German stations from the border to Aachen. I really wish that was also the case from Maastricht to Liège...
Cheers 😊 *blush*
Yes, from the Dutch border to Aachen. Netherlands and Germany have long allowed their ticket machines / tariff system extend into each other's territory. They have also allowed Belgian ticket machines / tariff system into their territories. As for the other way round 😓...
Just for fun you could also make one with all the heritage/museum railways. Like ZLSM, which even crosses into Germany near Aachen.
Ah yeah. I did the heritage railways in the past.
I did a major revamp of my maps last year, and... I decided that it was too much work to include them / the maps are already cluttered enough 😓
But maybe I can include links to them in the webpage 😊
How about one with all the future planned connections? Like the extension of the RB from Stolberg to Eupen.
Ah cool! I didn't know about Eupen – Stolberg.
In the past I did things like that to a degree, e.g. the suposed reopening of passenger service between Hamont and Weert. I have since learnt to not act in anyway until services have actually started 😂 (or at least certainly happening within the year).
Very nice, this just shows how extensive our public transport system really is.
Belgian PT system is good 😊, and I see improvements over the years.
(Still lots of room for improvements though.)
it really depends where you live, here it's really a downgrade over the years... Last time I took the train it took me 7 hours to get home to do 250km...
My Condolences.
I see an increase in quality on average, but it is true that in some cases, the changes have been in the opposite direction... :(
1h34 minimum for 120 km without swapping train, i dont call this ‘good’
Saving up to visit Belgium and NL this year and planning on using the train to get around so these maps are super duper useful, thank you!
Glad to hear that they are useful :)
The maps and the webpage are made with non-locals in mind.