After a shortened but successful 2025 season (from mid-April to mid-September), we are delighted to share with you the exciting work and projects ahead to make our railway line even more welcoming and comfortable !
Thanks to subsidies from the Walloon Region granted as part of the recovery plan, these projects are being carried out by “ETF”, a company specialising in the railway sector, which was selected following a public tender.
They began in mid-September 2025 at various locations along the line and will continue until the end of this year, without impacting regular and event-related services for the 2026 season.
Volunteers from the PFT / Chemin de Fer du Bocq are also carrying out maintenance work (replacement of sleepers, fishplates, etc.) to ensure the smooth running of operations for years to come.
The main objective is to enhance the tourist appeal of the line by welcoming you in the best possible conditions from April 2026 !
⚠️ Safety first ! It is extremely dangerous and legally prohibited to walk on the tracks ! ⚠️
(Article 7 of the Railway Police Act of 27/04/2018)
👷 Caution : construction work in progress ! Regular train and construction vehicle traffic. 🚧
Complete renovation of the Senenne curve
From mid-September to the end of December, the entire S-curve at Senenne was renovated. The work began with the replacement of all the wooden sleepers with 500 reused metal sleepers, except for a few metres of straight track where monobloc concrete sleepers were used. After ballasting and tamping the track, all the rails were replaced.
Supported by the “Commissariat général au Tourisme” (General Commission for Tourism), this work was eagerly awaited so that our trains could once again reach Ciney station (inaccessible since the end of 2024). This will now be possible in normal service from the 2026 season onwards !
Transformation of Spontin railway station
Due to its central location in the heart of the Bocq Valley, the Spontin station is the best located in terms of accessibility.
Close to public transport and the “E411” motorway, it is geographically well situated for tourists and therefore the most suitable for developing activities (events, catering, tourist train departures, etc.).
The aim of the work is to restore the station to its former glory, or almost… Track 2 is being extended to the Spontin tunnel and will run alongside track 1 in order to restore the two main tracks as they were in the past, as well as a third track that will be accessible via a switch (on the Yvoir side) and a “double junction crossing” (on the Ciney side).
Apart from a few simplified stop signals and small stop signals (light and ground level) used for manoeuvres, it is planned that the three tracks will be guarded on each side by mechanical signalling.
Below are some images of the computer-generated design, followed by the complete excavation of the track bed (after the tracks had been removed), the re-laying of tracks 1, 2 and 3, the final result following ballasting, tamping and levelling, and, finally, the installation of platforms 2 and 3.
Replacement of sleepers at Spontin-Source
Since November 2025, alongside subsidised construction projects, volunteers from the PFT / Chemin de Fer du Bocq have been replacing all double-block concrete sleepers (two concrete blocks separated by a metal bar) with single-block concrete sleepers, which are much more effective on curves and more resistant to the centrifugal force applied when trains pass.
This means that nearly 200 sleepers will be replaced over a distance of approximately 400 metres, including the entire Spontin-Source curve and part of the second curve (on the Dorinne-Durnal side).
This project is essential to ensure the continued operation of the line in the coming years.
Development project at Evrehailles-Bauche station
Currently, the temporary platform installed upstream of the original station serves as the terminus. The development project involves extending the railway line to reach Evrehailles-Bauche station. To facilitate manoeuvres, a dead-end track will be installed as a continuation of track 2 (Ciney side) and an additional section will be added to track 1 (Yvoir side).
Apart from a few simplified stop signals and small stop signals (light and ground level) used for manoeuvres, it is planned that the two main tracks will be guarded on each side by light signals (more specifically, ‘Type I’ signals) that can only display green, red and red-white moonlight (small movement = manoeuvre).
Below are images of the project (final rendering after works) created on a computer.