CFL replacement buses will serve four rail corridors through 13 September

Luxembourg’s summer railway disruption is entering a new phase. Passengers on four major corridors must navigate a sequence of closures that begins with the routes towards Thionville and southern Luxembourg and then shifts to the northern line and the German border from 24 August.

The programme matters well beyond holiday travel. It affects some of the country’s principal commuting arteries, including the Moselle route used by workers from France and the connection towards Trier. CFL has assembled around 200 drivers for nearly 1,000 replacement-bus services a day during the summer works, but road congestion means a bus cannot reproduce a train timetable with certainty.

Due to potential disruptions related to road traffic, the CFL recommend that customers allow additional travel time, which may vary depending on the day and the chosen line. — CFL passenger advisory

What changes before 24 August

No trains are running between Luxembourg and Thionville until Sunday 23 August. CFL estimates that the substitution can add about 45 minutes between Thionville and the capital. The L90 serves the regular rail stops through Bettembourg and Hettange-Grande, while the L91 and L92 provide faster links with fewer stops. A separate bus is tied to TGV departures from Metz.

Passengers with CFL or SNCF season tickets can also use designated cross-border RGTR routes during the closure, provided their ticket covers the international journey. Travellers should nevertheless check their precise connection because departure points and stopping patterns differ between the replacement services.

On the southern network, trains between Luxembourg and Bettembourg remain suspended through Friday 14 August. From Saturday 15 August until Sunday 23 August, the closure changes shape: no trains will run between Luxembourg and Esch-sur-Alzette or between Noertzange and Rumelange. The Bettembourg–Volmerange-les-Mines branch will again be closed from 15 to 30 August.

The principal substitutes are the L60 between Luxembourg, Howald, Bettembourg and Esch-sur-Alzette, the supplementary L61, and the direct L62 to Esch. At peak times, the L60 is scheduled every five to ten minutes and the direct L62 every 15 minutes. The L63 will connect Bettembourg with Volmerange every 30 minutes.

The next wave moves north and east

From Monday 24 August until the end of service on Sunday 13 September, trains will be replaced by buses between Ettelbruck and Gouvy and on the Kautenbach–Wiltz branch. The L14 to Gouvy runs hourly on weekdays and every two hours at weekends. The L15 serves the intermediate northern stops every 30 minutes, while the L16 and L17 cover Wiltz via different routes.

During the same three-week period, the Luxembourg–Trier line will be closed to trains in both directions. Replacement buses will operate, and journey planners on CFL Go and Mobiliteit.lu are the authoritative source for individual departures. The existing RGTR 303 between Kirchberg and Trier may also be relevant for some passengers, but it is a separate scheduled route rather than a universal substitute for every railway stop.

The closures therefore do not strike all four corridors simultaneously. Instead, the pressure moves around the network: first the French and southern axes, then the northern and German routes. That sequencing gives CFL access to long sections of track while concentrating buses and drivers where they are needed.

What passengers gain from the shutdowns

On the southern axis, the closure allows CFL to continue the new Luxembourg–Bettembourg railway, scheduled to enter service from September 2027. Crews are working on a final 250-metre platform section north of Bettembourg station, drainage, overhead power and signalling. An underpass linking the two sides of Bettembourg is also being installed.

At Howald, two 24-tonne escalators per platform are being fitted for access to the interchange above the tracks. CFL expects the complete hub, including its bus station and tram stop, to open in the final quarter of 2026.

The northern closure will permit renewal of 2.6 kilometres of track between Cinqfontaines and Troisvierges, using 5,200 metres of rail, 4,300 sleepers and 11,500 tonnes of ballast. Another 1.1 kilometres will be renewed between Kautenbach and Paradiso, while metal nets will secure 300 metres of rock face.

East of the capital, CFL and DB InfraGo will refurbish the cross-border bridge at Wasserbillig. A 5.7-kilometre double-track section between Wecker and Fausermillen will also be renewed, representing 11.4 kilometres of rail, 19,000 sleepers and 7,000 tonnes of ballast.

Those projects explain the scale of the interruption, but they do not remove its immediate cost for passengers. Anyone travelling on an affected corridor should search the exact journey shortly before departure, check whether the bus leaves from the railway forecourt or another stop, and leave a margin for motorway and urban traffic.