This is the Luxembourg page in January and February 2020. From March onwards, see this page. Some information in the following box turns out to be not correct!
Domestic public transport (second class) in the Luxembourg becomes zero-fare from 1 March 2020 onwards; this page primarily reflectes the situation from that date onwards (currently with some uncertainties). For fare infomation on Luxembourgish public transport between 15 December 2019 and 29 February 2020, see also the Luxembourg 2019 page.
From 1 March 2020 onwards, basically:
Greetings! Here are some tips on travelling by train in/to/from/through Luxembourg. See also the home page for tips on train travel in Benelux in general; not all tips on Luxembourg in that page are repeated here.
Luxembourg is Lëtzebuerg in Luxembourgish, Luxembourg in French, and Luxemburg in German and Dutch. This is Luxembourg's official website, and tourism website. Luxembourg is the only Grand Duchy (Groussherzogtum / Grand-Duché / Großherzogtum / Groothertogdom) remaining in the world, and Luxembourg is often referred simply as the Grand Duchy. Other than the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, there is also the Province of Luxembourg in neighbouring Belgium, which was historically a part of the Grand Duchy. (Luxembourg also lost territories to Prussia and France.) The primary train station in the Grand Duchy is Luxembourg Station, in Luxembourg City, the capital.
Jump to:
A number of companies run passenger rail services in Luxembourg. The following map shows the coverage of the various railway companies in Luxembourg (plus the Netherlands and Belgium; Luxembourg is LU in the map).
Operators of non-high-speed trains:
High-speed rail service operator:
OUIGO is SNCF's low-cost domestic high-speed service in France. Two OUIGO stations easily accessible from Luxembourg are Metz-Ville and Lorraine TGV to the south.
Video taken in 2018:
Based on their stopping patterns, there are various types of train services in Luxembourg. Luxembourg uses Luxembourgish equivalents of the German nomenclature:
The InterCity going west from Luxembourg to Arlon/Namur/Brussels is run by NMBS/SNCB. On the same line, the RE or RB between Luxembourg and Kleinbettingen/Arlon is run by CFL or NMBS/SNCB trains. The InterCity going north from Luxembourg to Liège/Liers is run jointly by CFL and NMBS/SNCB (CFL locomotives with NMBS/SNCB carriages). Going east from Luxembourg, CFL runs one RB (called RB 83 in Germany) per hour Monday to Saturday to Trier Hbf and Wittlich Hbf, and also one RE (called RE 11 in Germany) per hour everyday to Trier Hbf, Wittlich Hbf, and Koblenz Hbf. Once per day, the CFL RE 11 continues further from Koblenz Hbf, and becomes an IC to Bonn Hbf, Köln Hbf (i.e. Cologne), and Düsseldorf Hbf. (CFL's RE 11 train is often coupled with DB Regio Südwest's RE 1 train between Koblenz Hbf and Trier Hbf; RE 11 then goes to to Luxembourg, while RE 1 goes to Saarbrücken Hbf and Mannheim Hbf.)
For French trains in Luxembourg, French nomenclature is also used:
The following are network maps of the regular passenger rail services in Luxembourg and Belgium.
InterCity and high-speed rail network in Benelux (Luxembourg is LU in these two maps):
Local train network in Luxembourg and Belgium:
'P' is a Belgian nomenclature for supplementary services (usually additional services during peak-hours). The P trains that cross the Belgian–Luxembourgish border are classified as RB, RE, or IC in Luxembourg, based on their stopping patterns in Luxembourg. Otherwise they have the same train number in both countries.
You may be interested in the CFL printed timetables for domestic/cross-border destinations, and international destinations. (The information in the printed timetables is not necessarily up to date; always check with CFL for the latest information.)
These are the timetable spreadsheets for the high-speed rail services in/to/from/through Benelux that I have compiled. (I cannot guarentee their accuracy! Click on the tabs for the various sheets. Timetabling for high-speed rail services is often very irregular, and they often change every few months; always check their websites for the latest information.)
The Luxembourgish public transport system is coordinated through the Luxembourgish Verkéiersverbond. The mobiliteit.lu website gives information regarding all forms of public transport in Luxembourg. There is a mobiliteit.lu journey planner app (android, iOS).
Second class travel on trains is free within Luxembourg. The Luxembourgish railway network extends into Audun-le-Tiche and Volmerange-les-Mines in France; there are Luxembourgish ticket machines at these stations, and these two stations are not connected to the French railway network. Athus in Belgium is considered the same tariff point as Rodange in Luxembourg (I asked CFL about this). In other words, Luxembourgish domestic ticketing is extended to Athus (i.e. free in second class). However, there are no CFL ticket machines at Athus.
Bicycles, pets, and luggage also travel for free on CFL trains domestically.
Travel is also free with Luxtram, and domestic travel in Luxembourg with the Luxembourgish bus companies: AVL (Luxembourg City bus), TICE (Southwest/Esch-sur-Alzette area bus), RGTR (countrywide bus). German bus 410 (Luxembourg – Bitburg) is also covered under Luxembourgish tariff.
Before the change on 1 March 2020, a two-hour ticket is €2, and a day ticket is €4 for domestic travel with Luxembourgish public transport operators. Transfers are unlimited.
First class travel on trains within Luxembourg remains unchanged: €3 two-hour ticket, €6 day ticket, €37.5 short-distance month ticket, €75 month ticket, €330 short-distance year ticket, €660 year ticket.
Passengers have to leave the train they are on before the ticket expires, based on the timetable schedule of that train service. Two-hour tickets expire after two hours from the time of ticket validation, and day tickets expire at 04:00 the following day. (Fine for not having a valid public transport ticket in Luxembourg, when one is required, is €150.)
For short-distance month and short-distance year tickets, look at this hexagonal map, you nominate a starting point first, and 'short-distance' is six hexagons from the starting hexagon, with the starting hexagone being the zeroth hexagon. If the zeroth or the sixth hexagon is a purple hexagon, then the entire patch of purple hexagons is considered one hexagon.
There are special train deals with nearby areas in neighbouring countries; see the sections on Germany, France, and Belgium.
For cross-border buses, there are the RegioZone fares. For nearly all RGTR buses that cross the border, and German bus 410 (Luxembourg – Bitburg), they are free within Luxembourg, otherwise RegioZone 1 fare is charged: €3 one way, €5 day ticket, €40 month ticket, €360 year ticket.
RegioZone 2 fare is €5 one way, €9 day ticket, €85 month ticket, €750 year ticket. This fare is for:
Before the change on 1 March 2020, RegioZone 1: €5 2-hours, €9 day ticket, €85 month ticket, €750 year ticket; RegioZone 2: €9 2-hours, €16 day ticket, €135 month ticket, €1190 year ticket.
The Wallonian public transport operator TEC runs a few of its own services to the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, but it does not participate in Luxembourgish ticketing. TEC subscriptions from TEC Namur-Luxembourg are not valid on the cross-border RGTR buses.
The basic tickets can be purchased from a bus driver or a CFL train conductor (train attendent). All tickets bought from a CFL train conductor have a €1 surcharge. Tickets are validated immediately.
There are the CFL app (android, iOS), and the mTicket app (android, iOS) for mobile phone tickets. The CFL app takes Visa and Mastercard. The mTicket app takes DIGICASH (Luxembourgish bank transfer) and PayPal. A ticket is validated immediately. When ordering a monthly network subscription in the app, one can choose the starting date of the subscription.
There are CFL ticket machines at all train stations in Luxembourg, at Audun-le-Tiche and Volmerange-les-Mines in France, but apparently not at Athus in Belgium and other foreign stations served by CFL. The CFL ticket machines sell domestic tickets, and also some cross-border tickets. This is a two-page explanation in English from CFL on how to use the CFL ticket machines, including a list of cross-border tickets available from the ticket machines. In the machine, you can switch between Luxembourgish, French, German, and English languages. The machines take coins, and some cards (Vpay, Visa, Mastercard, Maestro). Very few machines take banknotes. Tickets are validated immediately after purchase.
mKaart is Luxembourg's contactless RFID card. After second class public transport becomes free on 1 March 2020, the mKaart remains in use for first-class train tickets, cross-border bus tickets, and accessing mBox (bike storage at train stations). An mKaart can be obtained for free when purchasing a Luxembourgish public transport ticket at some ticket counters. The card has a validity of five years. There are anonymous cards, and personalised cards. Tickets and subscriptions can be loaded into an mKaart at the ticket counters, at the ticket machines of the Verkéiersverbond, or from the mShop website (see next paragraph). To validate a ticket: a) if there is just one ticket in the card, just tap the card at the card reader, and that ticket is validated; b) if there are multiple tickets in the card, tap the card once at the card reader, the screen then displays the tickets that the card has in it, you press the ticket that you want to validate on the touchscreen, and then you have to tap the card at the card reader again to validate it; c) if you want to validate multiple tickets, e.g., if the card is used by two people using two separate tickets in the card at the same time, repeat the procedures in b).
If you already have an mKaart, you can go to the mShop website, set up an account / log into your account, and purchase Luxembourgish public transport tickets there. However: a) tickets ordered online are only available after 04:00 the next day; and b) the tickets are not automatically loaded into an mKaart; you have to go to a validator, press the pink circle on the top left corner of the touchscreen, and then hold the card on the card reader until the tickets are loaded into the card.
Full range of domestic, cross-border, and international tickets can be purchased at the ticket offices at Luxembourg and Belval-Université stations. Near the International ticket office at Luxembourg station is an SNCF long-distance train-ticket machine for France. TICE has a ticket office for domestic and cross-border (bus) tickets at Esch-sur-Alzette station.
One can also book international train tickets from the CFL website. The usual international booking webpage of CFL is a Luxembourgish version of the NMBS/SNCB (Belgian Rail) booking webpage. There is also a Luxembourgish version of the SNCF (French Rail) website. With the SNCF website, the Luxembourgish version and the French version seem to give the same prices. With the NMBS/SNCB booking webpage, however, it is worth comparing the price given by the Luxembourgish version versus the Belgian version. Also check the international booking webpages of other nearby countries (see links at the home page).
This is the CFL accessibility information page. There is an assistance service, which has to be booked at least one hour beforehand for domestic services, and at least 48 hours beforehand for international services. Telephone: +352 49 90 37 37, Fax: +352 49 90 34 89, E-mail: video-surveillance.zoc@cfl.lu
A useful website is info-handicap.lu.
There are short-distance tickets for just across the border, and there are long-distance tickets.
For transportation of bicycles, see what Deutsche Bahn says in German about this.
The CFL Saarbrücken Express bus is covered by Luxembourgish RégioZone 2 tickets (see above).
Here is a map of the local train lines in Rheinland-Pfalz 'Rhineland-Palatinate' and Saarland (or from here and then press Liniennetzkarte), the two German states that border Luxembourg. (The map is old: e.g. RB 82 is now shortened to between Perl and Trier Hbf, with a new line RB 83 taking over the section between Wittlich Hbf and Trier Hbf, and from there extending to Luxembourg; RE 8 and RE 27 has swapped their routes but not the stopping pattern along their common route.)
For train travel, there is a special day return ticket to Trier: €5 for adult and €2.5 for child (6 to 11 years old inclusive), second class. First class tickets are cheaper if it is just between the border station of Wasserbilig and Trier. These tickets can be bought from a ticket machines, or from the CFL app. This day return ticket is also available in the opposite direction from Trier to Luxembourg. New prices, old prices.
There are also monthly/annual subscriptions, called the OekoCard, along this line to as far as Wittlich. German residents need to provide evidence of employment in Luxembourg, while Luxembourgish residents need identity documents. New prices, old prices.
For one to five people, there is the Rheinland-Pfalz-Ticket + Lux, which costs €25/31/37/43/49 for 1/2/3/4/5 people for a day, covering: a) free second-class public transport in Luxembourg; b) railway across the Igel frontier; c) in the German states of Rheinland-Pfalz (Rhineland-Palatinate) and Saarland (plus some bordering regions), local trains (IRE/RE/RB/S-bahn) and bus/trams. It is valid on Mon–Fri from 09:00 in Germany (i.e. valid on a train departing Luxembourg station at about 08:30), and no restrictions on Sat–Sun. (See the validity area and other rules in the terms and conditions. Read them very carefully.) The names of the holders have to be written on the ticket. This ticket can be purchased from the CFL ticket machines, or online via DB. New prices, old prices. (Within Germany, there is also the Rheinland-Pflaz-Ticket, which is Rheinland-Pfalz-Ticket + Lux minus the crossing at Igel frontier. Saarland-Ticket is the same thing as Rheinland-Pflaz-Ticket.)
If you are buying a ticket from Luxembourg to Koblenz Hbf (or slightly before Koblenz Hbf), one-way: the line between Luxembourg and Koblenz Hbf is an RE service, i.e. German local-train fare rules apply. The CFL and NMBS/SNCB International websites offer you a full fare ticket. The DB website, however, automatically also offers you the cheaper Rheinland-Pfalz-Ticket + Lux (see immediately above), if the journey is not before 09:00 on weekdays (but this cannot be refunded/altered). If you combine this with, e.g., an IC service to Düsseldorf (the next stop is Andernach), then German long-distance fare rules apply. The cheapest long-distance tickets can be a lot cheaper than the local tickets.
This information has to be checked again closer to March 2020:{From Germany, VRT (Trier transport authority) has the day ticket TagesTicket DeLux, and the month / year subscriptions MobilTicket DeLux Monat/Jahr. There are five tariff levels: from Übergangstarifzone 1 closest to Luxembourg, to Übergangstarifzone 5 covering the entire VRT area. These tickets/subscriptions cover the non-high-speed trains and buses in Luxembourg and the VRT area, but border crossing is restricted to railway across the Igel frontier, bus 410, and bus 407. This ticket is not valid on Luxembourgish cross-border buses 100, 116, 117, 118, 134, and 157. See also the VRT to Luxembourg page for further illustrations.}
South of the VRT region, sharing a short border with Luxembourg is the saarVV region of Saarland. saarVV tariff extends a little bit into France, but apparently not into Luxembourg. In the opposite direction, Luxembourgish buses extend into Saarland.
The Moselle/Mosel/Musel forms the border between Luxembourg and Germany from Schengen down to Wasserbillig, and is very scenic. Running along the Mosel on the German side is RB 82 Perl – Trier Hbf – Wittlich Hbf. The following are some railway stations right across from Luxembourg: In Saarland, Perl is right across from Schengen, and Nennig is across from Remich. In Rhineland-Palatinate, Wincheringen is across from Wormeldange, Wellen (Mosel) is across from Grevenmacher, and Oberbillig is across from Wasserbillig. South of Perl, passenger trains on this line cross the Apach frontier to Thionville and Metz in France only twice in each direction on Saturday and Sunday (RE 16). SNCF TER runs buses between Thionville and Apach/Perl on Monday to Saturday.
This information has to be checked again closer to March 2020:{For the Luxembourg – Germany – France tripoint region, there is the Saar-Lor-Lux ticket, which costs €26/36/46/56/66 for 1/2/3/4/5 people for one Saturday or one Sunday, covering most of the local trains in Saarland (Germany), Lorraine (France), and Luxembourg, and some bordering regions. (Check the validity area and other rules in the terms and conditions; read them very carefully.)}
See the Germany section in the home page for the local transport tickets that cover the whole Germany.
For Germany, there are the saver fares called Sparpreis Europa, and also the even cheaper Super Sparpreis Europa, for international tickets which involve at least one section of travel on long-distance trains (e.g. ICE/IC/EC) in Germany. Before or after the German ICE/IC/EC journey, Sparpries gives a free connecting journey on slower trains (including IC and local trains in Benelux) up to a certain distance. After that, the price increases in increments of €10.
With Luxembourg, the free connecting distance is hard to predict: for some journeys, Sparpreis to the entire country costs the same; in other instances, Sparpreis to/from Wasserbillig on the border is €10 cheaper than to/from Luxembourg station. It is best to compare Sparpries to/from Trier Hbf, Wasserbillig, and other destinations in Luxembourg.
There are special day return tickets from any station in Luxembourg to Thionville/Metz/Nancy via the Bettembourg frontier on TER trains (not TGV trains). Child fare is applicable to children 4 to 11 years old inclusive in France. There is an equivalent ticket sold in France in the opposite direction. New prices, old prices.
On the other hand, there seems to be no special day tickets to Longwy and beyond via the Rodange frontier. When buying an international ticket to Longwy, just get an international ticket between Rodange and Longwy or further. That short international section between Rodange and Longwy is quite expensive. Getting an international ticket all the way from Luxembourg City to Longwy is horrendously expensive, as SNCF charges that based on French rate, not Luxembourgish rate. (If you have time, catching the RGTR bus 398 and 399 between Rodange and Longwy is cheaper.)
There are also weekly and monthly/annual subscriptions. These cover all train stations in Luxembourg and till some point on the TER line towards Nancy via the Bettembourg frontier, or to Longwy via the Rodange frontier. For departures from Luxembourg, these subscriptions can be purchased by anyone in Luxembourg. In the other direction, they can only be purchased by residents of Lorraine (the French region south of Luxembourg). New prices, old prices for weekly, monthly, yearly, youth.
The Gare Lorraine Express bus (to the station of Lorraine TGV) has tickets of its own, and this service must be pre-booked. Information from the contractor.
This information has to be checked again closer to March 2020:{For the Luxembourg – Germany – France tripoint region, there is the Saar-Lor-Lux ticket, which costs €26/36/46/56/66 for 1/2/3/4/5 people for one Saturday or one Sunday, covering nearly all the local trains in Saarland, Lorraine, and Luxembourg, and some bordering regions. (See the validity area and other rules in the terms and conditions; read them very carefully.)}
This is the official webpage of rail maps of France. This is the website of SNCF TER Grand Est (local railway network of the region to the south of Luxembourg).
Buses right across the border in France:
For France, TGV and OUIGO has dynamic pricing (i.e. book early for the best price), while TER has fixed price. SNCF charges a horrendous amount for connecting train trips within Luxembourg. For TGV, book till Luxembourg; for TER, book till Bettembourg (if you do not have a special Lorraine–Luxembourg day return ticket). Second class travel is free within Luxembourg.
Also read further in the Belgium page.
There are special day return tickets between any station in Luxembourg and some near-by stations in Belgium. For the day-return tickets, the following options are available to/from any station in Luxembourg (see also the maps above):
(For Gouvy/Vielsalm/Trois-Ponts, adult first-class price is cheaper from Troisvierges, the northern-most station in Luxembourg before the Gouvy frontier.)
CFL ticket machines only sell special day-return ticket tickets to Gouvy/Vielsalm/Trois-Ponts, and for 'Arlon via Sterpenich' and 'Arlon via Athus'. (Do not cross at the wrong railway frontier.) For the other destinations, I suppose you have to go to a ticket counter for them. New prices, old prices.
In Belgium, children 5 or younger travel for free, children 6 to 11 inclusive travel for free if accompanied by a passenger 12 or older with a valid ticket, and each such passenger can take along at most four children 6 to 11 years old for free; otherwise a child needs to have a child ticket.
The monthly subscriptions have destinations further in Belgium. New prices, old prices. One commonality between these special-priced tickets/subscription is that they CANNOT be combined with another Belgian domestic ticket on the same train. For instance, do not board the IC from Luxembourg to Arlon with one of these special day return tickets, and then stay on the same train beyond Arlon with a Belgian domestic ticket.
The exact same range of tickets/subscriptions are also offered by NMBS/SNCB (Belgian Rail) in the opposite direction, with the same rules about not combining with a Belgian domestic ticket on the same train.
For Belgium, other than full-flex tickets, there are also the mid-flex tickets of weekend return (depart on Fri/Sat/Sun, return on Sat/Sun), and youth single/return (for people 25 years or younger). These give 30% off full fare.
Other good deals between any station in Belgium and any station in Luxembourg are (with a surcharge to Brussels Airport):
With these normal international tickets, unlike the special cross-border return tickets, you can use them in combination with another Belgian domestic ticket in the same train (I asked NMBS/SNCB International about this). (Based on interactions with other rules, this would work with Belgian cross-border tickets to Roosendaal or Maastricht in the Netherlands, or Aachen Hbf in Germany, but not with local cross-border tickets between Belgium and France.)
An international ticket that has its origin or destination in a Zone in Belgium automatically gives the traveller, on the ticket's date of validity, free travel on NMBS/SNCB trains within that Zone until they leave the zone.
Also read further in the Netherlands page.
For the Netherlands, going via Belgium, there are the Early-Bird deal and the Nederland Speciaal deal. Fare-paying adult can take along children 11 years old or younger for free. (But do they need tickets stating that they are entitled to free travel? Ask.)
The Early Bird deal gives fixed discount when booked seven or more days ahead of the departure date, on non-high-speed trains. The discount is on average 40% for Monday to Thursday departures, and 20% for Friday to Sunday departures. There are equivalent deals from the Netherlands to Luxembourg via Belgium, and between the Netherlands and Belgium. In the Netherlands, with an international ticket, the ICd surcharge is not applicable. Something that I have only seen mentioned in the CFL terms and condition for the Early Bird deal is that the ICE surcharge in the Netherlands is also not applicable. (But the ICE surcharge in Belgium is applicable.) If booking this deal from the Netherlands, it is best to do so online; the Dutch ticket machines and the normal ticket counters only sell full fare tickets, while the NS International ticket counters and telephone booking usually charge hefty booking fees.
Only available from CFL is the Nederland Speciaal deal: 40% discount for a 30-day return ticket, between any station in Luxembourg and any station in the Netherlands. With this deal, the transit route between Luxembourg and the Netherlands has to be Troisvierges – Gouvy frontier – Liège – Visé frontier – Maastricht.
For the Netherlands, usually going via Belgium is faster and cheaper. However, it is also worth checing options going via Germany instead, especially if the discounts via Belgium are not available to you, and/or if you are going to places in the Netherlands close to the German border. Even for Amsterdam, if you book late, it is worth comparing prices going via Belgium versus Germany.
There are no special deals between Eurostar and Luxembourg. The most direct connections from Luxembourg to Eurostar are: a) TGV Luxembourg to Paris Est > walk or metro one stop to Paris Nord > Eurostar; b) InterCity Luxembourg to Brussels-Midi/Zuid > Eurostar.
On weekdays, the cheapest way would to catch a CFL train to Athus (free Luxembourgish public transport in second class), and then use an Any Belgian Station + Eurostar ticket from Athus. (Belgian trains only go to Athus on weekdays/non-Belgian holidays). Alternatively, if you catch a direct train from Luxembourg to Brussels Midi/Zuid, you can get a NORMAL FULL-FARE Luxembourg > Arlon international ticket, and then use an Any Belgian Station + Eurostar ticket from Arlon on the Luxembourg > Brussels IC (you can do this; I asked NMBS/SNCB International about this; just make sure that you are not using a special day-return ticket between Luxembourg and Arlon, as these special day-return tickets cannot be combined with a Belgian domestic ticket on the same train).
The information below is shown in the weekend local train maps above.
I do this as a hobby. I am not a travel agent; while I would be interested in questions that you might have, please direct your questions to the public transport providers involved. Situations and rules can change quickly; please check with the public transport providers for the latest information. I take utter care on the accuracy of the information I provide here, but I cannot be held responsible for any inaccuracies. If you see any doubtful information, comments are welcome: hilario.bambooradical gmail.
Unless otherwise stated, all diagrams and photos are work of mine. Please respect copyright. I apologise for the quality of the photos and videos; I hope that they are good enough for illustrative purposes.