A beautiful station, but Belgium's best has to be Antwerpen Centraal, I think? What always impresses me when travelling on SNCB trains is the silence and the ride (which is down to Infrabel). In fact it was the first thing I noticed on my first ever journey there. And it's a standard I now judge all others by.
One reason I like watching your videos is your syntax (assuming English isn’t your first language). It sheds light on word selection & sentence structure that doesn’t first come to mind as a native English speaker yet still makes sense.
They might look like the M6 but they're completely different. Sets with the powered cars will be able to go +200 KM/H and you'll be able to seat yourself next to the engines, they really are exciting new trains.
@@PTB_BE Sadly we as travellers have little say in the ticket prices (I'm lucky I'm a student so can get a cheap rail pass and my dad works for Infrabel so during busy seasons (holidays for example or rush hour) I can get seated in first class for free. When I discovered the ticket prices for Bruges-Gent, I was so shocked and couldn't believe such high prices were allowed...
The first class is not bad, the second class is just very good 🙂 And on the I11, only the doors should get another color, I love the warm orange color.
if you want to review another belgian train, i strongly recommend the am66/73/74/78/79. These traintypes all look almost identical, and are from the 60's and 70's. They look old, feel old and are really old, they got refurbished back in the early 2000's. They run on mostly on local lines, youre most likely to find them in liege, some examples: Local train Liege-Namur, somethimes Local train Liege - Maastricht(nl), Local train Aachen(de) - Verviers - Spa and intercity Antwerp - Turnhout. They are a really fun nostalgic traintype and i'm curious how you like them.
The reason why you currently see mixed consists of M7/I11 is because there simply aren't enough M7 coaches available. Also, in the past few months the number of M7 per train had been limited to two, because of a problem of compatibility with the axle counters on HSL 2. As far as I know, the max. number of M7 per train has now been increased to 4 coaches.
Great Vlog thank you for illustrating how efficient the rail net work is in Belgium. Belgium is a Country I love, but despite this I have only stayed in Bruges I usually visit Belgium on route to Germany. After the Pandemic is over I plan to visit Belgium more and explore more. many thanks. Steve
@@belgianrail1 yeah but we do it with the m5's as well and they can only go 140. It all depends on traffic management because the S2 trains Leuven - braine le comte are always on the outside tracks and they have to stop everywhere
To be honest, I quite like the echoes of the announcements in Liège-Guillemins ; it gives a cathedral feel and the acoustic quality has always been very good anyway.
The first train you encountered was a half-hour train (13:28 → arrival in Liège & Brussels at ≈XX:30), which goes to Kortrijk and thus uses M6 (or even older) rolling stock. M7 only run on the hourly trains (≈XX:00 in Brussels & Liège), as they go to Ostend, where the M7 are maintained. All hourly trains at least have one M7 carriage at the front of the train (direction Liège → Brussels). :-)
I think the Liege station is stunning! Also couldn’t believe how quiet the coach was 👍🏻. On another note, the new Secretary of Transportation in the U.S., Pete Buttiedge, has said that he is much in favor of more rail transport for the U.S. and he’s in favor of high speed rail. Perhaps Thiabault could consult with him on the matter 👍🏻😉
i dont think you should evaluate the price based on travel time, rather than distance 15€ is a fine price to cross half the country in a fairly quick and comfortable train
Yea almost nobody buys firstclass here, it's mostly not worthy for the amount of time we spend on the train. That's why it's only populair with people who want silence
Liège ! Calatrava et ma querida València. La Belgique, la SNCB ... Que de bonnes choses dans cette vidéo ! Manque plus que les frangins nous montrent leurs beaux yeux dans les miroirs des toilettes et on atteint la perfection
I used to live in Liège during the early 1970’s. The former Guillemins Station at that time was a drab piece of Mid-century Modernism. I can’t wait to go back to Liège and see this recent architectural masterpiece.
Superbe ! Les voitures M7 sont vraiment le top du top, pour avoir voyagé avec 2x 🙂 ! Ils ont compris que c'est pas avec les Desiro complètement inconfortables qu'ils vont attirer les gens dans les trains 🙂
Thank you for the video. Is there still a train museum in Brussels Nord? I was there 65 or 66. They had a large train layout with TV cameras on the layout. Unfortunately it was not running at the time.
The Train Museum, now called Train World, moved to a new site at Schaerbeek Station a few years ago. It's housed partly in the old station building and in a newly built dedicated museum hall. Definitely worth a visit!
@@imaginox9 Thank you. Not that I will get there any time soon.😢 ETA: Thank you, also, to the other responders. Looked at the website; dang can't make the chocolate train exhibit.
Thibault, your brother knows how to choose a good seat! I don't know why you always prefert to travel backwards, but your bro seems to be more sensible :D
The Luik/Liège station was impressive! But funny that you didn't mention the shape of the platform at Brussel where you arrived haha. That one seemed like it was in a whole different country.
@@lpt2606 because NMBS/SNCB spends more money for the station in Mons and Mechelen than for the capital, for some reason. Gare Centrale however is nice
great video filmed by your brother liege gulliermins new station is definitely a marvel of modern architecture the new m7 double deck coaches look very nice and spacious and i like there was also other coaches in the train composition aswell i also like that in belgium you can travel by rail in short distance to all the surrounding countries and obviously the waffles beer and chips ( fries)
the liege guillemin train station is one of the most beautyful stations i ve ever seen. there is also one the best restaurants ever in this station and the belgian railway company offers a lot of connecting lines on this station!
@@vin99021 Those are spoken languages. The official written version of Dutch used in Belgium is the same as the Netherlands. Since there are several diffent dialects of Flemish spoken in Belgium, going with standard "Nederlands" was the safe bet so as not to offend anyone! It's like Switzerland, where the spoken Swiss-German is pretty much incomprehensible to those of us that studied standard German. However, written German in Switzerland is pretty much the same as in Germany, with an occasional Swiss vocabulary word.
Architecture was incredable. Now if they could incorporate a place for train-nerds to watch operations from the stations would be a massive upside. Great video.
I've travelled on this line and also to the slover line Brussels Liège by Louvain la Neuve, Namur (on this line your journey takes almost 2 hours). I've been to Liège twice.
Btw: It was Santiago Calatrava who proposed a dome for the Berlin Reichstag. Norman Foster with his "gas station" (a huge roof on stilts) won first prize in the competition, but was commissioned to incorporate the dome shape. - Heinz
At first i didn't know the existence of these new carriages, there are nice, the only thumb down was really the seat pitches at the first class and the layout, i enjoyed the video, as i told you in one of your videos, i am very happy with the train services in Belgium where i live, i can't compare too much with another countries because i travel more by air in Europe, but i think it doesn't let me down, in general, the transport service in Belgium is excellent, i like it.
Wow, the interior of those M7 coaches is definitely one of the best I've ever seen!!! Congrats to SNCB, I'm jealous of them :) About Santiago Calatrava, well... his style is stunning but here in spain he has a reputation of a fraudster. His works ALWAYS cost many times the expected budget and he uses materials and structures that are nearly impossible to maintain. I'm still amazed that other countries keep hiring him after all the scandals his works have caused...
It's not just in Spain. There's another new Calatrava designed station under construction in Belgium, in Mons, and it's already gone over budget by a factor of three, and is already eight years late (was supposed to be finished in 2015, current plans say 2023)!
In Netherlands , in Haarlemmermeer municipality ( around Schiphol Airport) , Calatrava designed three , not too big bridges. Projected costs were €16 mln , it became 28 to build. Then they were just rusting away ( unlike Spain, Holland can be humid and cold, eh ) and needed extra maintenance. After 10 year the municipality had spent already €50 mln on construction , adaptation and ecxess mmaintenance . 😱 And counting..as the bridges need €3 mln maintenance per year (€1mln each) !!! 😧😰😰
M7 cars are curently only tested on this area on the Eupen-Ostende Line and the peek hour trains between brussels and Liège but those trains aren't using the TGV line. In a way, I'm sad that they are replacing the i11 on the TGV line, I love them :/
Santiago Calatrava also designed a train Station in Lisbon Portugal called Gare do Oriente and i can see the design similarities between all of them that he designed
Good trip report 👍🏻 The M7 looks good and confortable. Well, first class is not really IC dignified but allright for a 1 hour trip. But i can‘t understand why new low-floor coaches haven‘t a low-floor entrance and i don‘t like when some seats don‘t fit with the windows.
These 2 M7 coaches are not really low-floor, but there will be one "multifunctional" coach in every train composition eventually, also usable for bicycles. See the second picture here. www.treinenweb.nl/reviews/91/nmbs-presenteert-m7-intercity.html. However, even with these multifunctional coaches, it will still not be possible for PRM to board the train independently since the trains don't perfectly mention the platform height, which has caused quite some controversy. Because of this, a second batch of M7 coaches has been ordered to match the platform height. Of this second batch, there should also be at least one coach in every composition eventually.
Hi i love your videos and i hope u will also review other passenger train services in italy, we also have 2 stunning stations, napoli afragola and reggio emilia av, both high speed train stations
11:15 wrong, France also had this in pays de la Loire: the Z21900 is similar as a Z21500 but with TVM. If you want to find it, Z21900 has only pays de la Loire delivrery.
Very much (high speed) trains in Belgium/France are made by Alstom. The Acela express is a sort of slower version of the TGV (a lot of components/used technics are the same).
I think the architect who designed the station in Liege also did the commuter train station at Denver International Airport and Oriente station in Lisbon.
The coaches look nice, but I don't understand why they didn't install armrests inbetween the seats, not even in first class. That would be ok for suburban trains, but not on intercity services the M7s operate. Btw, great trip report, as always.
I used to visit Leuven a few times a year, and the scenery between Brussels midi and Leuven look so familiar(there is that big Stella Atois factory on the port side leaving Leuven station I thought you might have captured but I guess not). Took the Thalys train from Brussels to Koln one time but did not get off at Liege, would love to actually visit Liege and Aachen and see all those Charlemagne sites.
Great stuff! One thing puzzles me. In The Netherlands all new trains have a boarding height which is almost the same height as the platform so that makes entering especially for disabled people a lot easier. Kinda strange that NMBS still uses these type´s of entrances.
Belgium has some great stations Antwerpen Centraal and Liege Guillemin Then there are the others Ghent St Pieters (Project that has taken years to complete and still has half the station to rebuild) Oostende (Massive refurbished station and half the platforms aren't neccesary) Brussles (Midi,Nord) (Really Dull and not much with them) and major junction stations like Brugge and Mechelen (Same as Brussles)
I think they put the 2+2 seat configuration in first class because these coaches are meant to be used on the line to Oostend, and can become extremely crowded on warm summer days. Imagine the frustration of people paying a first class ticket and not finding a seat. So, there are more seats available, only less comfortable. (also, in general, most first class passengers are SNCB or Infrabel employees, plus other government employees who receive a first class pass as part of their salary. An old friend got one on her first year at her first job as a jurist for the Union of Walloon Cities and Municipalities.)
Agree that 1st class left something to be desired in both the seat and the seat configuration on the M7. Could SCNF possibly run mixed stock for the disabled? I notices that the M7's do not look that accessible to folk like me. I was more impressed with the I11 stock.
There are European regulations for disabled people. It would surprise me if these brand new coaches didn't comply. The voice in the toilets, for example, is mandatory, for blind people.
@@chefchaudard3580 No. The new M7 coaches are not accessible enough. It made a scandal in the Belgian press... 20 more years of non-inclusive trains...
The I11 stock's doors are really narrow and their stairs are pretty darn high, are you sure you meant the I11 stock and not like a Desiro or M6 multifunctional coach?
Liege Guillemins may be nice to look at but it's a terribly impractical design for a railway station. The architect should work a shift there over a winter on the platforms.
Yes, that's the "young" tariff for -26 yo for every destination in Belgium (gotta use NMBS app). Of course, it's useful until your standard ticket cost less than that haha
The state of the rail infrastructure is in marked contrasts to their roads! Infrabel take their time on refreshing or rebuilding stations but they get there in the end! Great stations! (Is Gent finished yet?)
No, not even close. Two platforms (for four tracks) were renovated in Gent, then the work was halted. They couldn't find construction companies that would do the rest of the work for anything close to an acceptable price. So the design for the rest of the platforms was simplified, and work on those should resume some time in the second half of this year.
Both, SNCB is the French name abreviation (Société National de Chemin de fer Belge), and NMBS is the Dutch name abbreviation (Nationale Maatschappij der Belgische Spoorwegen).
Keep it up if you are World Trade Center is actually the PATH station. MTA New York State World Trade Center Subway Stations are still their 1910s-1930s construction. The SNCB M7 has a power car. SNCB HSL is 25kv 50hz along with some other lines like L25N L165 & L166 all other lines 3kv DC
The M7s are vastly superior to the M6s despite the similar appearance : 200 kph capable, improved displays, automatic announcements, much better materials used, power outlets, better "BDx" coach for bikes and disabled people, the first-class actually feels like an improvement whereas M6s 1st class is laughable (the color of the seat trim is basically the only thing different). On the technical side the M7 compositions with the new "M7 BMX" locomotives act like an oversize EMU that you can more easily couple/decouple on both ends (GF type automatic coupling at both ends) and way better onboard electronics, provisions for potential one-man operations, etc.
![Seungmin "그렇게, 천천히, 우리(As we are)" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/kAzmhLHePqU/mqdefault.jpg)
A beautiful station, but Belgium's best has to be Antwerpen Centraal, I think? What always impresses me when travelling on SNCB trains is the silence and the ride (which is down to Infrabel). In fact it was the first thing I noticed on my first ever journey there. And it's a standard I now judge all others by.
For somebody that lives in belgium i have to agréé allso close to a zoo i think
One reason I like watching your videos is your syntax (assuming English isn’t your first language). It sheds light on word selection & sentence structure that doesn’t first come to mind as a native English speaker yet still makes sense.
I agree - language is fascinating. BTW, I would add... Even MORE sense in some instances!
@@jen93106 I concur!
@@Carsoniman Could you give us some examples please ? You made me curious.
They might look like the M6 but they're completely different.
Sets with the powered cars will be able to go +200 KM/H and you'll be able to seat yourself next to the engines, they really are exciting new trains.
Also: the prices for Belgian tickets go as high as you allow it to go.
Actually, the sets with the powered cars will only be able to go 160. It's the ones that are loco-hauled that can go 200.
@@nicov1837 o don't believe that to be honest
@@PTB_BE Sadly we as travellers have little say in the ticket prices (I'm lucky I'm a student so can get a cheap rail pass and my dad works for Infrabel so during busy seasons (holidays for example or rush hour) I can get seated in first class for free.
When I discovered the ticket prices for Bruges-Gent, I was so shocked and couldn't believe such high prices were allowed...
M6s could go 200 with class 18s or 19s before?
The first class is not bad, the second class is just very good 🙂
And on the I11, only the doors should get another color, I love the warm orange color.
Wtf wdym you don't like the blue doors, i love them
I don't live in a country with trains however I just love trains. Great coverage!!!
Sad, what country is it?
if you want to review another belgian train, i strongly recommend the am66/73/74/78/79. These traintypes all look almost identical, and are from the 60's and 70's. They look old, feel old and are really old, they got refurbished back in the early 2000's. They run on mostly on local lines, youre most likely to find them in liege, some examples: Local train Liege-Namur, somethimes Local train Liege - Maastricht(nl), Local train Aachen(de) - Verviers - Spa and intercity Antwerp - Turnhout. They are a really fun nostalgic traintype and i'm curious how you like them.
The reason why you currently see mixed consists of M7/I11 is because there simply aren't enough M7 coaches available.
Also, in the past few months the number of M7 per train had been limited to two, because of a problem of compatibility with the axle counters on HSL 2.
As far as I know, the max. number of M7 per train has now been increased to 4 coaches.
I have see that too
Is it just the line Eupen-Oostende that uses the new coaches?
Because damn, NMBS' favoritism is showing again XD
These days its normally 3-4 I11s with a older bike carriage,the rest being M7s
I lived in Leuven around 2008. Lots of things have changed in the station since then. I wish you do a trip report there soon
It's sad that Leuven's renovation, based on Liège-Guillemins' one but designed by Samyn instead of Calatrava, is so ugly :(
@@XtraGameX And the water leaks, oh goodness...
Stunning! In my opinion the station is just a masterpiece!
Great Vlog thank you for illustrating how efficient the rail net work is in Belgium. Belgium is a Country I love, but despite this I have only stayed in Bruges I usually visit Belgium on route to Germany. After the Pandemic is over I plan to visit Belgium more and explore more. many thanks. Steve
the classic line between leuven and brussels is actually a 200kmh line too. well the inside tracks are. the outside tracks are limited to 160
But yoi sometimes see AM96 or AM80 that go through the inside lines but their max speed is 160 kmh
@@belgianrail1 yeah but we do it with the m5's as well and they can only go 140. It all depends on traffic management because the S2 trains Leuven - braine le comte are always on the outside tracks and they have to stop everywhere
@@kristofkellens3264 ok thank you
It really depends on the traffic on the line. If you are lucky you are behind an ICE or Thalys and you'll get the 200kmh
Thank you!
The station is amazing, but it could do with some hidden sound dampening to cut the echoes and improve the announcements.
And heating in winter, they now set these mushrooms on gas.
@@dirkusmaximus9268 no we dont do that
To be honest, I quite like the echoes of the announcements in Liège-Guillemins ; it gives a cathedral feel and the acoustic quality has always been very good anyway.
but than you get the feel that the station is very big .
The first train you encountered was a half-hour train (13:28 → arrival in Liège & Brussels at ≈XX:30), which goes to Kortrijk and thus uses M6 (or even older) rolling stock. M7 only run on the hourly trains (≈XX:00 in Brussels & Liège), as they go to Ostend, where the M7 are maintained. All hourly trains at least have one M7 carriage at the front of the train (direction Liège → Brussels). :-)
I think the Liege station is stunning! Also couldn’t believe how quiet the coach was 👍🏻. On another note, the new Secretary of Transportation in the U.S., Pete Buttiedge, has said that he is much in favor of more rail transport for the U.S. and he’s in favor of high speed rail. Perhaps Thiabault could consult with him on the matter 👍🏻😉
i dont think you should evaluate the price based on travel time, rather than distance
15€ is a fine price to cross half the country in a fairly quick and comfortable train
the prices drop A LOT if you are under 26 or have a subscription
for me (15 years) it woud be 6,60 euros for this trip
Also on the weekend the price is 50% less
@@lpt2606 Indeed, as a commuting student I pay 1,77 € for this exact trip.
Belgium is a weird country in terms of railway prices XD
Very nice coaches, wish we had trains like this in the U.S.!
the first class is insane for belgium no train has such a good looking first class here
and it does not need to bee just silence is good
Yea almost nobody buys firstclass here, it's mostly not worthy for the amount of time we spend on the train. That's why it's only populair with people who want silence
Beau voyage jusque Liège Guillaume et Bruxelles midi j'ai adoré là vidéo beau modèle de train c'était passionnant
Love the new station. Thank you for showing it!
Liège ! Calatrava et ma querida València. La Belgique, la SNCB ... Que de bonnes choses dans cette vidéo ! Manque plus que les frangins nous montrent leurs beaux yeux dans les miroirs des toilettes et on atteint la perfection
WOW I have been WAITING I'm glad 😁
Thanks for the feature! This is a great video!
I used to live in Liège during the early 1970’s. The former Guillemins Station at that time was a drab piece of Mid-century Modernism. I can’t wait to go back to Liège and see this recent architectural masterpiece.
Post-war architecture was such an abberation in deed.
Superbe ! Les voitures M7 sont vraiment le top du top, pour avoir voyagé avec 2x 🙂 ! Ils ont compris que c'est pas avec les Desiro complètement inconfortables qu'ils vont attirer les gens dans les trains 🙂
Les desiros sont juste mal utilisées, ça reste des rames configurées pour du RER
@@jeremyleroy9764 Oui tout à fait, ce qui ne va pas c'est qu'ils les mettent sur des IC
Thank you for the video. Is there still a train museum in Brussels Nord? I was there 65 or 66. They had a large train layout with TV cameras on the layout. Unfortunately it was not running at the time.
It's now at Schaerbeek station 😉
Google Trainworld! Been there in 2016, was amazing! It is in Schaerbeek.
The Train Museum, now called Train World, moved to a new site at Schaerbeek Station a few years ago. It's housed partly in the old station building and in a newly built dedicated museum hall. Definitely worth a visit!
@@imaginox9 Thank you. Not that I will get there any time soon.😢 ETA: Thank you, also, to the other responders. Looked at the website; dang can't make the chocolate train exhibit.
Incredibly beautiful station!
Beau train a double étage merci beaucoup pour cette belle vidéo beau modèle😍
Amazing Calatrava work. I've had the pleasure of using the station in New York! Another beautiful station!!!👍
Bro, New York Penn Station is a terrible station.
@@damcoentertainment3956 Yes Penn Station is bad news. My comment was about the Farley Post Office restoration which is part of Penn Station.
Looking good! Love your vids!
Content de voir le résultat 😍
C'est la "Salle des pas perdus" et non "perdues". C'est trop tard, je ne fais plus équipe avec vous. Bonne chance aux frangins!
I absolutely love this station - it is so atmospheric.
An excellent review ! These new M7 coaches look really good.
I love how this is like 2 trip reports in one video, because of the two different rolling stocks! xD
Autotrain with charging for Electro vehicles... That would be so awesome
You're a visionary!!
Thibault, your brother knows how to choose a good seat! I don't know why you always prefert to travel backwards, but your bro seems to be more sensible :D
lol
Lol
The Luik/Liège station was impressive! But funny that you didn't mention the shape of the platform at Brussel where you arrived haha. That one seemed like it was in a whole different country.
indeed
as a Belgian i don't understand why the stations of our capital city look like shit
but it has its nice things to it
@@lpt2606 Just imagine the chaos if they'd have to close down some of those tracks.
@@jlust6660 very True
@@lpt2606 because NMBS/SNCB spends more money for the station in Mons and Mechelen than for the capital, for some reason.
Gare Centrale however is nice
Gare du Nord is being renovated bit by bit. The platforms aren't that great yet, most of the other parts are quite shiny.
great video filmed by your brother liege gulliermins new station is definitely a marvel of modern architecture the new m7 double deck coaches look very nice and spacious and i like there was also other coaches in the train composition aswell i also like that in belgium you can travel by rail in short distance to all the surrounding countries and obviously the waffles beer and chips ( fries)
the liege guillemin train station is one of the most beautyful stations i ve ever seen. there is also one the best restaurants ever in this station and the belgian railway company offers a lot of connecting lines on this station!
Don't forget the yellow line that indicates a 1st class section, or coach.
I appreciatie the usage of both French and Dutch names. Keep up the good work!
Actually, it is Waals (French) and Vlaams (Dutch) as both languages are dialects of the original languages.
@@vin99021 Those are spoken languages. The official written version of Dutch used in Belgium is the same as the Netherlands. Since there are several diffent dialects of Flemish spoken in Belgium, going with standard "Nederlands" was the safe bet so as not to offend anyone! It's like Switzerland, where the spoken Swiss-German is pretty much incomprehensible to those of us that studied standard German. However, written German in Switzerland is pretty much the same as in Germany, with an occasional Swiss vocabulary word.
@@vin99021 waals or walloon is a separate language, not a dialect.
Santiago Calatrava also designed the Lisbon-Oriente station, and it is quite similar Liège-Guillemins! I personally love the architecture 🤩
It also looks like the oracle in the one world trade center
@@dedewx9550 Yeah, the oracle is quite stunning too 👍
I wonder if you would also love the debt and political intrigue?
In spain we know him as a fraudster. Yeah his style is impressive but his practical results are always a disappointment
Attention, seul le Thalys peut aller à 300km/h sur la l2, l’ICE est limité à 250km/h 😉
Are you sure? because the ice needs less time to travel between liege and brussels, while also stopping at an extra station....
@@melaniedrogr951 yes !
Architecture was incredable. Now if they could incorporate a place for train-nerds to watch operations from the stations would be a massive upside. Great video.
The station is amazing
Amazing report MR. Benjamin
Only second to Antwerp this is the most beautiful train station in Belgium.
Nice one.
I've travelled on this line and also to the slover line Brussels Liège by Louvain la Neuve, Namur (on this line your journey takes almost 2 hours). I've been to Liège twice.
Love the architecture of the station!
Btw: It was Santiago Calatrava who proposed a dome for the Berlin Reichstag. Norman Foster with his "gas station" (a huge roof on stilts) won first prize in the competition, but was commissioned to incorporate the dome shape. - Heinz
Wow .... the station has a futuristic design taken to the extreme .....
At first i didn't know the existence of these new carriages, there are nice, the only thumb down was really the seat pitches at the first class and the layout, i enjoyed the video, as i told you in one of your videos, i am very happy with the train services in Belgium where i live, i can't compare too much with another countries because i travel more by air in Europe, but i think it doesn't let me down, in general, the transport service in Belgium is excellent, i like it.
Wow, the interior of those M7 coaches is definitely one of the best I've ever seen!!! Congrats to SNCB, I'm jealous of them :)
About Santiago Calatrava, well... his style is stunning but here in spain he has a reputation of a fraudster. His works ALWAYS cost many times the expected budget and he uses materials and structures that are nearly impossible to maintain. I'm still amazed that other countries keep hiring him after all the scandals his works have caused...
It's not just in Spain. There's another new Calatrava designed station under construction in Belgium, in Mons, and it's already gone over budget by a factor of three, and is already eight years late (was supposed to be finished in 2015, current plans say 2023)!
In Netherlands , in Haarlemmermeer municipality ( around Schiphol Airport) , Calatrava designed three , not too big bridges. Projected costs were €16 mln , it became 28 to build. Then they were just rusting away ( unlike Spain, Holland can be humid and cold, eh ) and needed extra maintenance.
After 10 year the municipality had spent already €50 mln on construction , adaptation and ecxess mmaintenance . 😱
And counting..as the bridges need €3 mln maintenance per year (€1mln each) !!! 😧😰😰
M7 cars are curently only tested on this area on the Eupen-Ostende Line and the peek hour trains between brussels and Liège but those trains aren't using the TGV line. In a way, I'm sad that they are replacing the i11 on the TGV line, I love them :/
Santiago Calatrava also designed a train Station in Lisbon Portugal called Gare do Oriente and i can see the design similarities between all of them that he designed
In Mons (or Bergen in dutch), they're also building a new railway station designed by Calatrava.
Amazing This Train 👌😍
Good trip report 👍🏻
The M7 looks good and confortable.
Well, first class is not really IC dignified but allright for a 1 hour trip.
But i can‘t understand why new low-floor coaches haven‘t a low-floor entrance and i don‘t like when some seats don‘t fit with the windows.
These 2 M7 coaches are not really low-floor, but there will be one "multifunctional" coach in every train composition eventually, also usable for bicycles. See the second picture here. www.treinenweb.nl/reviews/91/nmbs-presenteert-m7-intercity.html. However, even with these multifunctional coaches, it will still not be possible for PRM to board the train independently since the trains don't perfectly mention the platform height, which has caused quite some controversy. Because of this, a second batch of M7 coaches has been ordered to match the platform height. Of this second batch, there should also be at least one coach in every composition eventually.
I have one of these back home. The Oriente Station (Gare do Oriente) in Lisbon, Portugal.
Search for some photos on the net...
Hi i love your videos and i hope u will also review other passenger train services in italy, we also have 2 stunning stations, napoli afragola and reggio emilia av, both high speed train stations
These new coaches look so much better.
11:15 wrong, France also had this in pays de la Loire: the Z21900 is similar as a Z21500 but with TVM.
If you want to find it, Z21900 has only pays de la Loire delivrery.
The M7 bilevel cars are also the same manufacturer (Bombardier/Alstom) like the HHP-8 Locomotive and the Acela Express.
You mean Alstom? He works/worked at Alsrom
@@mstrmren yeah
Very much (high speed) trains in Belgium/France are made by Alstom. The Acela express is a sort of slower version of the TGV (a lot of components/used technics are the same).
I think the architect who designed the station in Liege also did the commuter train station at Denver International Airport and Oriente station in Lisbon.
What a great architectural building
The coaches look nice, but I don't understand why they didn't install armrests inbetween the seats, not even in first class. That would be ok for suburban trains, but not on intercity services the M7s operate. Btw, great trip report, as always.
that's one amazing station
Is there any chance that you will be going to do a trip report in Asia any time soon?
Super ❤️
I used to visit Leuven a few times a year, and the scenery between Brussels midi and Leuven look so familiar(there is that big Stella Atois factory on the port side leaving Leuven station I thought you might have captured but I guess not). Took the Thalys train from Brussels to Koln one time but did not get off at Liege, would love to actually visit Liege and Aachen and see all those Charlemagne sites.
@Simply Railway when u will visit Asia , would love to see ur review for different railway around world not only europe and america
He will visit Asia and other continents in the future once the pandemic is over and travel restrictions have eased.
I would love to see some reviews in India and Japan
Aren't these trains the same as the Dutch double decker?
No. Not even close.
caltarva also designed the harp bridge in Jerusalam Israel
Oh yea your Videos make my day ❤🙂
Great stuff! One thing puzzles me. In The Netherlands all new trains have a boarding height which is almost the same height as the platform so that makes entering especially for disabled people a lot easier.
Kinda strange that NMBS still uses these type´s of entrances.
I have this station on Transport Fever 1 and Transport Fever 2 videogames. 😂🙃🙂😉
Simply railway can you do on the m5?
I LIKED it
No M5 is a disgrace 😂 as a train manager from Brux Midi i confirm
@@sanderrobenek the only dubbel decker train from sncb/Nmbs is m5 m6 m7 and I'm Belgium and I have been on the m5 and that's a dubbeldekker train
@@checked_cheese im a train Conductor for NMBS/SNCB so iknow, just to mention that M5’s sucks...
@@sanderrobenek no I dont think so
Pour utiliser les M7, inutile d'attendre les trains à destination de Courtrai, vous êtes obligé de prendre les trains à destination d'Ostende 😉
Belgium has some great stations
Antwerpen Centraal and Liege Guillemin
Then there are the others
Ghent St Pieters (Project that has taken years to complete and still has half the station to rebuild)
Oostende (Massive refurbished station and half the platforms aren't neccesary)
Brussles (Midi,Nord) (Really Dull and not much with them)
and major junction stations like Brugge and Mechelen (Same as Brussles)
Or how about the capitol limited, point , lower columbia and thruway bus, empire builder and the california zephir ?
Liege is a real modern railway cathedral! do you noted Santiago Calatrava repeated the shapes in the basement? - Greetings, Heinz
I think they put the 2+2 seat configuration in first class because these coaches are meant to be used on the line to Oostend, and can become extremely crowded on warm summer days. Imagine the frustration of people paying a first class ticket and not finding a seat. So, there are more seats available, only less comfortable. (also, in general, most first class passengers are SNCB or Infrabel employees, plus other government employees who receive a first class pass as part of their salary. An old friend got one on her first year at her first job as a jurist for the Union of Walloon Cities and Municipalities.)
Agree that 1st class left something to be desired in both the seat and the seat configuration on the M7. Could SCNF possibly run mixed stock for the disabled? I notices that the M7's do not look that accessible to folk like me. I was more impressed with the I11 stock.
There are European regulations for disabled people. It would surprise me if these brand new coaches didn't comply.
The voice in the toilets, for example, is mandatory, for blind people.
@@chefchaudard3580 No. The new M7 coaches are not accessible enough. It made a scandal in the Belgian press... 20 more years of non-inclusive trains...
The I11 stock's doors are really narrow and their stairs are pretty darn high, are you sure you meant the I11 stock and not like a Desiro or M6 multifunctional coach?
Liege Guillemins may be nice to look at but it's a terribly impractical design for a railway station. The architect should work a shift there over a winter on the platforms.
hello can u do a trip report with norwegian highspeed train GMB flytoget (airport express)? they go between gardemon, oslo s and drammen.
I live in antwerpen y hope you can make a video there
Liege - WOW!
Hey good video ☺️I'm french
Nice vedio . Thanks
the price is indeed a bit high
i just checkt and (i am 15) for me this trip woud cost me 6,60 euro's
Yes, that's the "young" tariff for -26 yo for every destination in Belgium (gotta use NMBS app).
Of course, it's useful until your standard ticket cost less than that haha
I recognize them when you look at the doors they have a lamp inside them indicating that the door is closing and the m6 dont have that
cool Fridays, oh sorry! fri-nights
in IST
The M7 coaches door sound sounds like the one on the UK’s Classes 755, 720, 345, 331, 195 and 385.
The state of the rail infrastructure is in marked contrasts to their roads! Infrabel take their time on refreshing or rebuilding stations but they get there in the end! Great stations! (Is Gent finished yet?)
No, not even close. Two platforms (for four tracks) were renovated in Gent, then the work was halted. They couldn't find construction companies that would do the rest of the work for anything close to an acceptable price. So the design for the rest of the platforms was simplified, and work on those should resume some time in the second half of this year.
The road situation has improved over the last few years. But there is still work to do.
Is it SNCB or NMBS ?
Both, SNCB is the French name abreviation (Société National de Chemin de fer Belge), and NMBS is the Dutch name abbreviation (Nationale Maatschappij der Belgische Spoorwegen).
Nice ❤️❤️
Keep it up if you are World Trade Center is actually the PATH station. MTA New York State World Trade Center Subway Stations are still their 1910s-1930s construction. The SNCB M7 has a power car. SNCB HSL is 25kv 50hz along with some other lines like L25N L165 & L166 all other lines 3kv DC
The M7s are vastly superior to the M6s despite the similar appearance : 200 kph capable, improved displays, automatic announcements, much better materials used, power outlets, better "BDx" coach for bikes and disabled people, the first-class actually feels like an improvement whereas M6s 1st class is laughable (the color of the seat trim is basically the only thing different).
On the technical side the M7 compositions with the new "M7 BMX" locomotives act like an oversize EMU that you can more easily couple/decouple on both ends (GF type automatic coupling at both ends) and way better onboard electronics, provisions for potential one-man operations, etc.
Santago Calatrava also designed Lisbon's Oriente station. Similarly naturalistic and flowing as his other work.
Yesss waffles ftw!
FINALLY M7 😍😍🥵😂