My proposal is a cross-border route from Luxembourg (LU) to Libramont (BE). It's a big international and commuter corridor part of the bigger SNCB ligne 162 connecting Arlon (which is Belgium's border station) to Namur. From Namur, the trains use the line 161 to reach Brussels, which makes line 162 one of Belgium's and Luxembourg's key axises, be it freight or passenger traffic. ROLLING STOCK The line 162 is mostly serviced by the AM96 and the AM08 EMUs. After crossing the border, the trains switch over from 3kV DC to 25kV AC and continue along the CFL ligne 50 for 25km until they reach Luxembourg, Gare Centrale. The available rolling stock could be the SNCB AM08 Desiro ML EMU and the all-new CFL Série 2400 Alstom Coradia Stream HC for the big bulk of passenger traffic, as well the CFL Série 3000, which serves as both a passenger- and freight-hauling locomotive. In passenger configuration, the 3000 appears with 4th gen dostos in CFL white-red livery. In addition, I think the MaK G1206 would be a great addition for some shunting services. CFL Série 1500 / MaK G1206 CFL Série 2400 / Alstom Coradia Stream HC CFL Série 3000 / SNCB HLE13 SNCB AM08 / Siemens Desiro ML SNCB AM96 ROUTE The main route from Libramont to Luxembourg is 74km of track, but it consists mainly of passenger traffic. Freight traffic coming from Belgium uses another route instead, the line 165, to join Athus, a freight yard on Belgium's border, from where freight trains continue toward Rodange to reach Bettembourg, where Luxembourg's biggest freight terminal is. From there, freight trains continue to France via Thionville. Which is why I propose 2 possible minor branches to these two strategic locations. The first branch to Thionville is about 15km long, so it shouldn't be too much of a stretch to add it to the route. The branch to Athus is much longer, spanning 25km approximately, meaning it's much less of a priority. The final route would then consist of the mainline from Libramont to Luxembourg with a short stretch connecting the Gare Centrale to Bettembourg. To that would then be added the optional 2 branches from where the route either goes west towards Rodange to join up with Athus or continues down south to reach Thionville and Molverange-Les-Mines. Due to its small size, Luxembourg's working force is mainly made up of people coming from neighbouring countries, especially France, which is why the french transport axis is a very important one, thereby making it imperial for me to be included in the route. TIMETABLE The bulk of the runs would be commuter trains from Belgium and France, with quite a few regional and IC services. But if the route would include the Thionville corridor, there would be a lot more freight runs, albeit not quite short ones. Bettembourg offers a lot of shunting operations opportunities, and allows for occasional freight from Arlon too, though most of the freight traffic from Belgium comes through Athus, which would be a lot more ideal for freight runs as they are longer and also more scenic. As an estimate, the base route without the branches would comprise of 125 services, 170 services with the Athus branch, 180 with the Thionville branch, and finally 250 services with both branches. GAMEPLAY AND SCENERY: The gameplay of this route would be specially unique due to certain stations not being serviced in every run, such as Viville, Berchem and Mamer-Lycée. Additionally, similar to the neutral sections and the voltage change in LGV Méditerranée: Marseille-Avignon, after Kleinbettingen, the player will need to change from a 25kV AC electrification to the belgian 3kV DC. Belgium is converting its railway to 25kV AC, but as of 2025, the Arlon-Libramont section still uses 3kV DC, which means all trains have to be dual voltage to operate between Belgium and Luxembourg. As you drive through the Luxembourgish county, the main sights are the countryside with beautiful fields, as well as the vineyards as you approach Thionville. On the belgian side though, the Ardennes have beautiful hills and forest landscapes. ADDITIONAL CONTENT: For sales purposes, the CFL series 2400 could, instead of being included with the route, instead be sold separately as an add-on loco. The base route services would then, however, drop by 30. If the route needs to be limited to 2 new locomotives, the series 1500 shunter could also be sold separately, although not recommended. Finally, the SNCB AM96 EMU could be additional content as an iconic belgian multiple unit. STATIONS: Belgium : Line 162: Libramont, Marbehan, Viville (AI only, can be serviced by an eventual AM96), Arlon Luxembourg : Line 50: Arlon , Kleinbettingen, Capellen, Mamer, Mamer-Lycée (services only between 7:00 and 20:00 on weekdays for school purposes) Bertrange-Strassen, Luxembourg Line 60: Luxembourg, Howald, Berchem, Bettembourg (normally goes on towards Esch-sur-Alzette, but is cut off) Line 60A: Bettembourg, Dudelange-Burange, Dudelange-Ville, Dudelange-Centre, Dudelange-Usines, Volmerange-Les-Mines Line 90: Bettembourg, Hettange-Grande , Thionville TL;DR: Route: Luxembourg-Libramont Locos: AM08, CFL Série 3000, CFL Série 1500/ G1206, Alstom Coradia Stream HC, AM96 (two of the last three possibly as additional content) Route Length: ~129km (including branches, Luxembourg-Libramont is 74km only) Stops: 18 Electrification: 25kV AC (Luxembourg, France), 3kV DC (Belgium) Safety systems: ETCS L1 FS, ETCS L2 FS, KVB Licenses required: SNCB, CFL, SNCF, CFL Cargo, Lineas, Fret SNCF
