Travelling by train within Luxembourg

If I could keep just one way of seeing Luxembourg beyond the capital, it would be the train. CFL’s network is short, direct and, within the country, free in second class. In a country of 2,586 km², it drops you in the Ardennes or the old mining south without you reaching for your wallet.

The lines that matter to a visitor

Every line runs through the capital’s central station and fans out from there. Heading north, the Troisvierges line climbs via Pfaffenthal-Kirchberg, through Alzette valley stations such as Lintgen, then Mersch, Ettelbruck, Kautenbach, Wilwerwiltz, Drauffelt and Clervaux. Two branches leave it, one from Ettelbruck to Diekirch and another from Kautenbach to Wiltz. Trains bound for Diekirch also stop at Colmar-Berg and Schieren.

Heading south, the Rodange line runs through Bettembourg, Esch-sur-Alzette, Belval, Differdange and Pétange, with branches to Dudelange and Rumelange. East, the Wasserbillig line serves Cents-Hamm, Oetrange, Betzdorf, Manternach and Mertert. West, the Kleinbettingen line passes Bertrange-Strassen, Mamer and Capellen. CFL also runs on to Athus, Longwy, Thionville and Metz.

What has no railway

Knowing where the train doesn’t go matters as much. Vianden, Echternach and Remich aren’t on CFL’s list of stations. Getting from Luxembourg to Vianden by train is the question people ask most, and the honest answer is that you can’t quite, you take the train to Ettelbruck or Diekirch and carry on by regional bus. That’s covered in Luxembourg buses.

Once your dates are set, check which hotels are still free in Clervaux before prices climb.

Tickets, and when you need one

In second class you don’t. First class costs €3 for a two-hour ticket or €6 for a day ticket lasting until 04:00 the following morning, plus books of ten or five for €24. Note that TER trains towards Thionville, Metz and Nancy have no first class.

Station machines run 24 hours in Luxembourgish, French, German and English, and take V Pay, Visa, Mastercard and Maestro as well as coins, though not 1, 2 or 5 cent pieces. Tickets are valid from issue and can’t be exchanged or refunded. If the platform machine is broken, board and tell the staff, who’ll sell you a ticket. And if you booked a French TGV online through SNCF, the two SNCF self-service machines at Luxembourg station will print it free, provided you use the same physical card you paid with. For questions, CFL’s call centre answers on +352 2489 2489 every day from 06:15 to 21:30. What the free scheme covers is detailed in Luxembourg free public transport.

On board, and parking at the station

Trains announce the next stop and any disruption on screens and over the tannoy, so you don’t need French to know where to get off. The CFL go app shows real-time running, connections included, which is handy for the change at Kautenbach for Wiltz. And even travelling free, keep your passport on you, as ID can be checked under the law.

If you arrive by car and want to continue by rail, CFL says most station car parks are free. The covered ones at Luxembourg, Rodange, Mersch, Belval-Université and Troisvierges charge, and the CFL P+R app manages spaces at several of them. For a day in the north from outside the capital, leaving the car at Mersch and hopping on the train strikes me as very sensible.

Once your dates are set, check which hotels are still free in Clervaux before prices climb.

Train and bike?

One of the best combinations in the country. Within Luxembourg CFL carries bikes free and without booking, space permitting, and platform screens show where the bike compartment will stop. There are 73 secure bikebox shelters, 63 of them near stations, all free. CFL also suggests Bike & Rail routes from station to station, such as Ettelbruck-Echternach-Wasserbillig or Luxembourg-Remich-Wasserbillig, which reach exactly the places the railway doesn’t. More in cycling in Luxembourg.

My favourite rail day trips

Clervaux is top for me, because the ride up the valley is part of the day and the castle with The Family of Man is in the village itself. Wiltz, with the change at Kautenbach, is another. For contrast, the south, Esch-sur-Alzette and Belval with its blast furnaces, on the same Rodange line. And Diekirch, if the history of the Battle of the Bulge interests you.

They all start from the same central station, with left luggage, free wifi and shops, which I describe in Luxembourg railway station. Arriving from London, Brussels or Paris is a different matter, with a paid ticket up to the border, and that’s in train to Luxembourg.

If you would rather have a local show you round, book a guided tour in Clervaux and choose by the reviews.

A car frees you from timetables: search car hire in Luxembourg on DiscoverCars and compare companies.

So you do not pay over the odds, look at trains, coaches and flights to Luxembourg on Omio and pick the one that suits you.