A train connecting 3 cities across 3 countries that was supposed to start in December 2023 finally launched on Sunday, 30 June. Connecting the cities of Liège, Maastricht and Aachen in Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany, respectively, the service is now running twice an hour.
Separate connections already existed between the cities, with an hourly train between Liège and Maastricht and a twice hourly one between Maastricht and Aachen, however, the new service, named LIMAX, from the names of the cities and the x standing for express, will run directly between Liège and Aachen, with no need of changing trains in Maastricht.
The service is a collaboration between the SNCB (Belgium), NS (Netherlands) and Arriva (Germany) operators, with the inauguration of the train taking place on Wednesday, 26 June at the Maastricht station. During the ceremony, an Arriva driver handed over a symbolic key to a SNCB.

The entire journey should take a little less than one hour and 30 minutes, with 11 other stops besides the main cities. Overall, the trains stop in: Liège-Guillemins (BE), Bressoux (BE), Visé (BE), Eijsden (NL), Maastricht Randwyck (NL), Maastricht (NL), Meerssen (NL), Valkenburg (NL), Heerlen (NL), Landgraaf (NL), Eygelshoven Markt (NL), Herzogenrath (D), Aachen West (D) and Aachen (D).
As the service is still in its early stages, a common ticketing system has yet to be set up. Meanwhile, tickets for the entire journey, or segments of it, can be purchased through SNCB channels. Passengers who already have a multiple journey pass from Liège to Maastricht can use it on the LIMAX service as well, but only to Maastricht, with a separate ticket needed of the leg to and from Aachen. The same applies to those with valid passed for the Maastricht-Aachen segment, who can use them on the new trains, but need a separate ticket for the journey to and from Liège.
The project was launched in 2019, with the Maastricht-Aachen segment of the journey already set, but technical issues over the Arriva trains’ being equipped with the European Train Control System (ETCS), a tool required by the Belgian government to be installed on all trains travelling on the country’s territory, to monitor speeds and distances and ensure the limits are not exceeded, had delayed the inauguration of the full service.
In March 2023, Belgian Mobility Minister, Georges Gilkinet, announced everything was finally in place for the service to start running by the end of the year. “Unforeseen, technical challenges” in installing the ETCS system on the Arriva trains caused the inauguration to be delayed to 9 June this year, but flood damage on the tracks led to the ultimate starting day of 30 June.