Ravel railway line 126 in the Hoyoux valley - Modave/Marchin

The first projects to build a railway line following the Hoyoux date back to 1853.

Ultimately, after several years of hard work, the railway will opened between Huy/Statte and Ciney on February 1 , 1877 . First for the freight trains (an important asset for the factories in the valley) and then for the passengers. The line was over 41 km long, but now (2023) there is only a limited freight service between Statte and Marchin for the Delloye-Mathieu steel factory. The rest of the route has been broken up after being closed in 1962 for travelers and 1982 for goods.

Nowadays, line 126 is called the RAVeL (network of slow roads) and is reserved for slow users, i.e. non-motorized users such as pedestrians, cyclists, persons with reduced mobility, skaters, horse riders.

The line is often called the 'Traversine', just like a gangway between two boats. The 'traversine' is a long road that runs from the Haspengouw plateau to the Condruze plateau and bridges the Meuse in Huy.

Willem Vandenameele