Railway bridge line 128 over the river du Bocq

Railway line 128 is a Belgian railway line between Ciney and Yvoir through the Bocq valley. The line is also called the Bocq railway, or in French: Chemin de fer du Bocq. The line is over 20 km long. The railway line runs parallel to railway line 162 between Ciney and Braibant.

The original intention was to build a tram line between Spontin and Yvoir. Given the large number of quarries, it was decided to have a "real" railway line built by the NMBS. The section between Ciney and Spontin was opened on July 5, 1898. On May 1, 1902, the section of track between Spontin and Dorinne-Durnal was opened. Exactly 1 year later the line had already been extended to Evrehailles-Bauche. It was not until June 1, 1907 that the railway line was complete to Yvoir. On July 31, 1960, passenger traffic on the line was abolished and replaced by a bus service. Freight trains continued to run on the line between Ciney and Evrehailles until the early 1970s. On November 7, 1983, the last freight train ran between Ciney and Spontin-Sources (to the La Rochette quarry that supplied ballast for the NMBS). The maximum speed was 70 km/h.

The railway is single track and was never electrified. From a military point of view, the line was never broken up and minimally maintained until 1985.

Since 1992, the TSP has been working on the restoration of the railway line. Since 1999, TSP museum trains have been running between Ciney and Spontin on weekends between June and September. Because the section of track between Spontin and Yvoir had not been maintained for a long time, the railway had fallen into poor condition. Bushes and trees are pruned, sleepers are replaced, and new ballast is supplied. A watercourse was even relocated. All work is done by volunteers from the association Le Chemin de Fer du Bocq (CFB).

Since 2001, the route has been running as far as Dorinne-Durnal. The maximum speed is 40 km/h, just like for all Belgian tourist lines. On June 1, 2007, the section between Dorinne-Durnal and Purnode was officially inaugurated. In June 2015, the line was extended to Evrehailles-Bauche.

The station buildings of Braibant, Sovet, Spontin, Dorinne-Durnal, Purnode and Evrehailles-Bauche have been preserved.

Part of "Railway 128 - Bridges, tunnels, fast-flowing rivers and the most beautiful village in Wallonia".

Avontuurlijke Wandelingen