About this journey

Join us for a cab-ride across the heart of Belgium, from Gent-Sint-Pieters station in Ghent to Leuven station, aboard an NMBS/SNCB AM96 over 88.3 kilometres of Belgian main line.

The journey begins at Gent-Sint-Pieters, a station with layered history: a small halt on the Ghent–Ostend line opened here in 1881, and the grand current building — designed by architect Louis Cloquet — was completed in 1912 in time for the 1913 International Exposition in Ghent. As of 2026, the station is still mid-renovation, with work on the final group of tracks under way and a permanent tram station under construction. The eastward ride then carries the train toward Brussels and on to Leuven.

Leuven station sits on railway line 36. A high-speed line passes through the station, though Leuven itself is not a stop on any high-speed route. The station has reached the maximum number of tracks and platforms possible at grade, meaning any further expansion would require an underground segment. The journey thus connects two stations at opposite ends of a long transformation: Ghent still evolving under construction, Leuven already at its physical ceiling.