Two Eurostar trains evacuated in Belgian heatwave as catenary snaps, hundreds stranded

Heatwave overwhelms rail infrastructure

Belgium's rail network reeled on Friday as a punishing heatwave triggered two separate Eurostar breakdowns, stranding roughly 400 passengers on each train and exposing the vulnerability of high-speed infrastructure to extreme temperatures. The incidents unfolded as nearly the entire country was under a red or orange heat alert, with thermometers climbing above 35 °C in several regions and peaking at 40 °C locally in the east.

Train 9326/9426 stopped near Leuven

The first disruption struck around 10:45, when Eurostar service 9326/9426 from Cologne to Paris ground to a halt near the Tivoli bridge in Heverlee, a suburb of Leuven. The cause remains unconfirmed, described only as a "technical incident" by the operator. Emergency crews and the Red Cross rushed to the scene, handing out water under Belgium's Solstice heatwave plan. Three passengers were taken to the university hospital Gasthuisberg as a precaution; Leuven police spokesperson Marc Vranckx said their condition was not serious. The other travellers were transferred to a relief train and brought to Leuven station to continue their journey.

“Passengers were evacuated in complete safety. Bottles of water were of course distributed.”

Second breakdown at Duffel

By early afternoon, a Paris–Amsterdam Eurostar suffered a similar fate near Duffel, close to Antwerp. This time the culprit was a ruptured catenary – the overhead electric cable that powers the trains. Infrabel explained that extreme heat causes the wires to expand and sag, making them prone to snapping. The break cut power not only to the traction system but also to the air conditioning, leaving passengers trapped in sweltering carriages.

Timeline of disruptions

The sequence of Friday's rail emergencies illustrates how quickly a heatwave can cascade through interconnected infrastructure.

Knock-on effects on Belgian domestic rail

The immobilised Eurostar blocked the high-speed line between Liège and Leuven. Two SNCB trains running from Eupen to Ostend were held behind it; they later managed to reverse to Ans station. Rail traffic was diverted onto the Hasselt–Leuven route, but that line was already hampered by an earlier collision between a train and a tractor in Hasselt.

“Two trains from Eupen to Ostend were stuck behind the Eurostar but were able to return to Ans station. We are diverting traffic via the Hasselt–Leuven line, which itself is already disrupted by a collision between a train and a tractor in Hasselt. These two incidents combined are causing delays.”

“On the high-speed line between Leuven and Liège, one track is closed. Trains can still run on the regular line, so the impact on regular services is minor.”

Eurostar apologised for what it called an "extremely difficult situation" and stressed that all passengers were eventually taken care of. The operator did not immediately say when full normalcy would return.