Belgian railway line 26


The Belgian railway line 26 is a railway line connecting Brussels to Halle in Belgium. It first opened on July 19, 1926, between Schaarbeek and Watermael railway stations. The line was completed on January 3, 1930. It was conceived as a circumvention of Brussels before the North–South connection existed, which opened only in 1952.
Today all passenger trains using the line travel from Vilvoorde on a branch line called 26/1 and not from Schaarbeek, to various destinations South of Brussels. The line carries several services of the GEN/RER: S4, S5, S7, S9. Some of these use the Schuman-Josaphat tunnel, which branches off just South of Meiser station.
The line serves the following stations:
Schaarbeek-Josaphat is no longer an operational station, it was a freight yard very near the present Evere railway station.
Etterbeek-Cinquantenaire was also a freight station, it is now closed and filled in.