Railway works this autumn: when Belval has no trains, and how to get home

On Monday evening the train board on this site went quiet. It was just after eight, at a station where the next train is never far away, and the board had nothing to show. I spent a good while looking for the fault.

There was no fault. The last train had left Belval-Université at 19:56, and the next one was the 04:57 the following morning.

The national railway, CFL, is working at night on the track between Esch-sur-Alzette and Rodange. Belval-Université, Belval-Lycée and Belval-Rédange all sit on that stretch. So for four weeks, on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings, the trains stop early. The last evening like this is Thursday 15 October.

If you read the railway’s own notice you will see “Monday to Friday”. That is the working week the works fall in. The last night of each week ends at four on Friday morning, and Friday evening’s trains all run. I checked every Friday to be sure.

Nobody is stranded. There is a bus timed to meet the train at Esch, and the whole detour costs about a quarter of an hour.

Find your day

Week beginning	Monday to Thursday evenings	Friday evening	Saturday	Sunday
21 September	Last trains 19:52 and 19:56, then buses	Normal	26th: a train every half hour, all day	Normal
28 September	Last trains 19:52 and 19:56, then buses	Normal	3rd: no trains, buses all day	4th: no trains, buses all day
5 October	Last trains 19:52 and 19:56, then buses	Normal	Normal	Normal
12 October	Last trains 19:52 and 19:56, then buses	Normal	17th: a train every half hour, all day	Normal
19 October	Trains run. After 20:00, change to a bus at Esch for Luxembourg	Normal	Normal	Normal
26 October	Trains run. After 20:00, change to a bus at Esch for Luxembourg	Normal	Normal	Normal

The 19:52 is the last train towards Pétange and Rodange. The 19:56 is the last towards Esch and Luxembourg. In the morning the first train is the 04:57 to Luxembourg, as always.

Three later dates to keep in mind:

• Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 November: no trains at Belval all weekend. They are back on Monday with the 04:57.
• Sunday 29 November, in the morning: trains from Belval go as far as Esch. The first one through to Luxembourg is the 11:57.
• Sunday 6 December: the first trains of the day are the 08:34 towards Rodange and the 08:57 to Luxembourg.

Getting home on a Monday to Thursday evening

Everything leaves from the bus station beside the railway station, the Gare routière. It is a two-minute walk from the platforms. Look for bus L60. It is the railway’s own replacement bus and it only runs on the evenings the trains do not.

To Luxembourg, Bettembourg or Schifflange. Take bus L60 to Esch-sur-Alzette, seven minutes away. It stops outside Esch station, three minutes on foot from the platform, and the train leaves eight minutes after the bus arrives.

Bus L60 leaves Belval	Train leaves Esch for Luxembourg
20:17	20:32
20:47	21:02
21:17	21:32
21:47	22:02
22:17	22:32
22:47	23:02
23:17	23:32
23:47, the last one	00:02, the last one

From Esch the train takes about half an hour to Luxembourg, as it always has. Door to door from Belval, Mobiliteit’s planner gave me 46 to 48 minutes on Monday night, against about half an hour on the direct train.

If you have just missed the L60, buses 3, 642, 651 and 551 also stop at Esch station.

To Differdange, Pétange or Rodange. Bus L60 in the other direction follows the railway line. It leaves at 20:14, 20:44, 21:14 and so on every half hour, with the last at 00:44.

Coming to Belval for the evening. It works the same way in reverse. Take the train to Esch, then bus L60 from the bus station outside. It leaves at 20:05, 20:35, 21:05 and so on every half hour, and reaches Belval in nine minutes.

Public transport in Luxembourg is free, buses included, so none of this needs a ticket.

The weekend of 3 and 4 October

No trains call at Belval on either day. Bus L60 replaces them from early morning, at least every half hour in each direction, and up to four an hour on the Saturday. Trains are back on Monday 5 October with the 04:57. That same Monday evening the weeknight pattern carries on.

For the November weekend and the December Sunday, the railway promises replacement buses too. Their times are not in the timetable yet. I will add them here when they are.

Late October, when the works change sides

From Monday 19 to Thursday 22 October, and from Monday 26 to Thursday 29 October, the works move to the other side of Esch. Belval keeps all its evening trains. After 20:00, the ones towards Luxembourg end at Esch. Outside Esch station, buses L61 and L62 take over for the rest of the journey. They leave at 20:11, 20:41, 21:11 and so on every half hour, with the last at 00:11. The last train from Belval that meets one is the 23:57.

How I checked

The dates are the railway’s. The times come from Mobiliteit’s timetable, which I went through evening by evening from 21 September to 1 November, along with each closed weekend, on Monday 21 September. Works timetables have a habit of moving, so look at the planner on the night itself.

The live board on the homepage has learnt from all this too. When Belval’s platforms go quiet, it now shows the next trains from Esch and the bus that will get you to them.

If you have tickets for the Rockhal on a Monday to Thursday before mid-October, have a look at the way home before the encore. And if you find yourself at the bus station at a quarter to midnight, you will not be alone.

Dates from the works calendar of CFL. Times from Mobiliteit.lu, read on Monday 21 September 2026.