Always at the service of railway undertakings

If you wish to gain access to the Belgian rail network, you will need a rail licence. The licence will prove that you have the necessary qualities and safeguards to make use of our network. If your company is based in Belgium, you can request a rail licence from the Federal Minister of Mobility. The rail licence is valid throughout the European Union.

Why is this necessary?

The rail licence proves that you have the necessary qualities and safeguards as a railway undertaking – financial standing, professional competence, integrity and insurance cover that includes civil liability. Important: in addition to the rail licence, you will also need a safety certificate.

What does the procedure involve?

• Do you have a registered office in Belgium? If so, you can apply to the Federal Minister of Mobility for a licence.
• Send the application by registered mail or deliver it by hand and receive confirmation of receipt.
• Within 90 days of receiving your application file, the Minister will make a decision.
• At any time, the Minister may verify that you are complying with all the provisions of the rail licence.

More information is available here

For more information, please refer to our network statement.

Minister of Mobility / FPS Mobility and Transport Rue du Progrès 56 B-1210 Brussels www.mobilit.fgov.be

Contact details

Infrabel Customer & Products Place Marcel Broodthaers 2 B-1060 Brussels

If you want access to the Belgian rail network, you must submit a single safety certificate. This proves that your company operates safely.

The single safety certificate demonstrates that the railway undertaking has established its safety management system and is able to meet the legal obligations referred to in Article 10(3) of Directive (EU) 2016/798.

The Unique Safety Certificate is valid for a specific area of operation, i.e. a network or networks on the territory of one or more Member States, where the railway undertaking intends to carry out operations.

Depending on the area of operation envisaged by the railway undertaking, the competent authority for issuing the certificate may be the European Union Agency for Railways or the competent national safety authority:

• If the activity is carried out only in Belgium, the railway undertaking has the choice of having its application examined by the European Union Agency for Railways or by NSA Rail Belgium (SSICF/DVIS).
• If the railway undertaking also wishes to operate in another Member State, it must have its application examined by the European Union Agency for Railways, which has the sole authority to issue the safety certificate. In doing so, the national aspects of the application will be assessed by NSA Rail Belgium (SSICF/DVIS).

More information is available here

For more information, please refer to our network statement.

NSA Rail Belgium (SSICF/DVIS) FPS Mobility and Transport Rue du Progrès 56 B-1210 Brussels www.mobilit.fgov.be/

Contact details

Infrabel Customer & Products Place Marcel Broodthaers 2 B-1060 Brussels

User agreement & Local protocols

User agreement

The user agreement between Infrabel and the railway undertaking defines the respective rights and obligations of each party.

The user agreement specifies in particular the arrangements for implementing the safety rules, the services and products, compensations and payment deadlines.

Local protocols

The local protocol is a separate agreement from the user agreement.

The local protocol regulates the practical arrangements for the use of the facilities or group of service facilities in which the railway undertaking wishes to carry out operations.

The local protocol describes the operational use of local facilities, specifically tracks, movements (such as entering and exiting tracks) and communication on the ground.

Further information

You will find more information in the Network Statement.

If you have any questions about these agreements, please contact the account management at accountmanagement@infrabel.be

If you use the Belgian rail infrastructure, you pay us a fee for the used train path.

The utilisation charge consists of the following elements:

• direct line cost (Your Moves): the cost directly attributable to the operation of the rail service
• Ramsey-Boiteux mark-up (Your Moves): is added to the direct line cost and is calculated according to the inverse elasticity of demand rule. The level of this mark-up depends on the segment, the train circulation period and the density class of the lines crossed.
• direct catenary cost (Your Power): covers the use of power supply systems for traction current and applies only to actual traffic.
• access to service facilities (Your Facilities)

More information about the calculation of the utilisation charge can be found in the Network statement.

In order to operate on the Infrabel network, the rolling stock in question must have a traffic admission certificate. We distinguish two different types of admission certificates here; the off-path admission, covered under the Your Technical Control section, and the in-path admission, covered here.

The in-path admission certificate also described as the 'vehicle authorisation for placing on the market' or as 'vehicle type authorisation' is issued by the European Railway Agency (ERA) and/or the (Belgian) Rail Safety and Interoperability Service (NSA Rail Belgium-formerly SSICF-DVIS). This authorisation must be requested in accordance with the requirements included in the European directive EU 2016-797 and in accordance with the Law of 30 August 2013 on the Rail Codex.

To obtain this authorisation, the rolling stock must conform to the applicable requirements at European level (TSIs) and/or to the applicable requirements at national level included in the Royal Decree of 6 December 2020, adopting the valid requirements on rolling stock for the use of train paths.

Below, you will find several relevant documents regarding the aforementioned requirements:

In French:

• ESC (ERTMS System Compatibility)
  • General
    • PSI(TC,ETCSsys,z) ESC TST PLN 1.7 E
    • PSI(TC,ETCSsys,z) ESC TST DSC 1.2 E
  • ESC-BE-01- L1FS
  • PSI(TC,ETCSsys.L1FS.z) ESC TST DSC 1.5 E
  • ESC-BE-02- L2FS
    • PSI(TC,ETCSsys.L2,z) ESC TST DSC 1.3 E
  • ESC-BE-03- L1LS
    • PSI(TC,ETCSsys.L1LS,z) ESC TST DSC 1.6 E
  • ESC-BE-04- LGV3_4
    • PSI(TC,ETCSsys.L2HSL,z) ESC TST DSC 1.3 E
  • ESC-BE-05-Border
    • PSI (TC,ETCSsys,z) Borders ESC TST DSC 1.4 E
    • PSI (TC,ETCSsys,z) Borders ESC TST DSC D 1.1 E
    • PSI (TC,ETCSsys,z) Borders ESC TST DSC FR 1.1 E
    • PSI (TC,ETCSsys,z) Borders ESC TST DSC L 1.1 E
    • PSI (TC,ETCSsys,z) Borders ESC TST DSC NL 1.1 E 
• ETCS braking curves
  • Réseau conventionnel
    • Exigences nationales d'Infrabel pour les courbes de freinage ETCS Full Supervision du réseau conventionnel -- 1.2 F
  • Réseau grand vitesse
    • Exigences nationales d'Infrabel pour les courbes de freinage ETCS Full Supervision des LGV 1.2 F
• TBL1+
  • 20110301_AS_TBL1+_01_03_11_FR_Ver_3_4_signed
• MEMOR
  • SI (TP,Croco--Memor,z) DSG DSC 1.5 FR
• RSC (Radio System Compatibility)
  • Infrabel_rsc_v2.0
• Train detection
  • Shunting
    • SI (TVP,TraCi--RoSto,z) shunting capacity ASS PRO F
    • SI (TVP,TraCi--RoSto,z) shunting capacity CNT NLS F
    • SI (TVP,TraCi--RoSto,z) shunting of composite brakes TST S F
    • SI (TVP,TraCi--RoSto,z) shunting on rusted rails TST S F
    • SI (TVPTCM100--RoStoz) shunting capacity ASS PRO F v1.2_PV
    • SI (TVPJADE--RoStoHSL) aptitude au shuntage TST S 1 2 F
  • EMC (Electro Magnetical Compatibility)
    • SI (xRoSto--yz) EMC RS 2.5 F

Contact details NSA Rail Belgium (formerly SSICF-DVIS)

FPS Mobility and Transport
Rue du Progrès, 56
B-1210 Brussels
E-mail: nsa@mobilit.fgov.be

Infrabel
Avenue Fonsny 13
B-1060 Brussels
E-mail: homat@infrabel.be

Since 1 January 2007, domestic and international freight transport has been fully open to competition. To improve the quality of the services provided and the efficiency of rail freight transport, and thus promote sustainable mobility, the European Union has defined eleven international freight corridors (RFC – Rail Freight Corridors), three of which pass through Belgium. These are European freight routes that cross several Member States. Intensive collaboration between European infrastructure managers for each corridor is essential to ensure the smooth movement of freight.

More information

You will find more information in the Network statement.

General information and a detailed description of the freight corridors in which Infrabel is involved can be found on the following websites:

• RFC Rhine – Alpine: www.corridor-rhine-alpine.eu
• RFC North Sea – Mediterranean: www.rfc-northsea-med.eu
• RFC North Sea – Baltic: www.rfc-northsea-baltic.eu

The rules specific to freight corridors are described in the Corridor Information Document (CID): www.rne.eu/rail-freight-corridors/corridor-information-documents.