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7 October 2004
BRUSSELS – The number of passengers taking the high speed Thalys train from Liege to Paris is falling, it was reported on Thursday.
According to several Belgian newspapers, the route was used by 38,072 customers between January and the end of September – down 4.5 percent on the same period last year.
On average just 141 passengers a day travel by Thalys from Liege to the French capital, meaning trains are usually only around a third full.
In the summer of 2003, the international Thalys consortium wanted to scrap the Wallonian service, which costs the rail company EUR 3.5 million a year.
It agreed to keep the trains running after an outcry from politicians in Belgium, but asked the SNCF to help subsidise the line.
[Copyright Expatica 2004]
Subject: Belgian news