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The " Ligne 38 " : green track containing multiple aspects

The "Ligne 38" is the former railway line which runs through the Pays de Herve and which used to connect Chênée with Plombières. Nowadays, it has been integrated in the RAVEL network and has become one of the most beautiful green tracks in Belgium, with special features for strollers, joggers, horsemen and mountain bikers.

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Nowadays, the former railway line " ligne n° 38 " is an ideal place for strollers, joggers, horsemen and mountain bikers. It has kept its initial cinder surface, which makes walking easier for man and horse. As it runs through the Pays de Herve from the North to the South, it lets you discover a region with a rich variety of sceneries, vegetation, buildings, ancient witnesses of the past.

Starting at the former railway station of Herve, nowadays home base of the Pays de Herve Tourist Information Service and a restaurant, the " Ligne 38 " takes you to Thimister and Clermont-sur-Berwinne, one of the most beautiful villages of Wallonia.

Keep following the " Ligne 38 " and you'll pass the place known as "Blockhouse" before getting to Froidthier where you can cross the "Chaumont" bridge, which has been magnificently restored just like the way it used to be. And " Ligne 38 " doesn't stop here yet. Further down the line, you arrive at Aubel where a locomotive imposingly stands on the old station site of Aubel.

After Aubel, the " Ligne 38 " takes you to the old rural station of Hombourg where numerous old wagons and locomotives have been stored.

Note that the section Montzen-Hombourg has been reconstructed in 1999 by a private person, who also owns the Hombourg station. Every now and then some tourist trains stop here. The Hombourg - Plombières section will take you to the station of Plombières and its former mining site. 

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A little bit of history

Lets go back in time, we are in the 19tth century.. Even if trains have run between the big Belgian towns since 1842, the project proposed by the private Railway company of the Plateau de Herve in order to connect Liège with Battice would only be approved in 1869.

The first section of Chênée - Battice was inaugurated on 25th January 1875 and only completed by the Battice - Plombières section twenty years later. This section had to transport coal from Fléron to Germany and non-ferrous metals from Plombières to the Meuse basin. In 1917, during the first World War, a 1,2 km railway line was laid between Hombourg and Montzen, so the new " ligne 24 " could be joined. This section, called " ligne 38/1 ", also passed by Hindel.

The unbridled competition of the car sounded the knell of rural railway lines. Passenger traffic stopped on the " Ligne 38 " on 2nd June 1957. Furthermore, goods traffic has been slowly abandonned : in 1992, the iron parts of the line were removed. Ever since, this railway line running through the whole Pays de Herve has become an exceptional track, especially for strollers, joggers, cyclists and horsemen. 

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