Infrastructure operator Infrabel and mining and metals company Carrières Unies de Porphyre (CUP) have agreed to work together to build a new ballast production plant with a railway siding in Lessines. The plant will be built on a 250-hectare site. The investment of over €80 million also includes the reopening of a railway siding to the production site by Infrabel. The approximately 3 km long, non-electrified line will provide direct access to the Belgian rail network after renovation work, which is planned from April to July 2024. Authorisation for the construction of the line was granted in June 2023. Infrabel is investing €5.6 million in the infrastructure, of which €3.5 million will come from the Belgian economic recovery programme.
