Opportunities for reinforcing cross-border railway connections: the case of the Liège (Belgium)–Maastricht (the Netherlands) connection

This article is aimed to determine how the different situations and visions may lead to dissatisfactory train connections. The analysis refers to a train connection between Liège and Maastricht, two cities that are about 30 km apart.

This document is structured into five parts. The first part refers to the introduction and presentation of difficulties in cross-border traffic. The second part presents the area of the study and the current condition of the cooperation in the Euregio Maas-Rhein. The document then contains a comparative analysis with the differences in the six areas: the economic context; the urban and regional infrastructures in Belgium and the Netherlands; the structure of the railway network; the obstacles when using trains; the current demand for train connections and the context of governance, public and political planning. The different areas reflect how insufficient the train connections between Liège and Maastricht are. The fourth part presents the solutions for improving train connections between the two cities. Finally, important conclusions are drawn, and the research perspectives are presented.

The cities and regions that are partners of the EMR have shared characteristics and issues, e.g. the distance of the economic centres and national capitals, deindustrialisation and lack of corporate headquarters and advanced services. Even though national borders are no longer physical obstacles, social, legal, economic and cultural obstacles between the two cities continue.

Maastricht and Liège have some major differences in the six areas named. From an economic standpoint, there is an imbalance in the economic development between the region around Liège on the one hand and the ones of Maastricht and Aachen on the other hand. As far as spatial and urban development is concerned, the Netherlands are known for planning to support compact cities. Belgian planning, in contrast, is characterised by large expansion of the cities. Concerning the train network, Liège is located within a major train hub with seven local lines. Maastricht, in contrast, is a terminus. The connection between the cities is approx. 30 km long. The train stations are about 6 km apart. There are many obstacles to using the cross-border line. The greatest difficulty concerns the differences between the countries in voltage, signage, safety system, communication and language. The current demand for an urban service is low. Finally, the context of governance, public and political planning between the two cities differs.

Analysis of the six areas shows three main fields: (i) the public decision and governance in traffic and planning, (ii) the condition of the infrastructure and (iii) the motivation of using local public transport. The article offers suggestions that may improve the train connection between Liège and Maastricht.