The Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg are three separate European
countries that have their own railway systems, with much integration
between each other. They are united by all running regular passenger
train services, mostly hourly or more frequent, within each country and
beyond. Nederlandse Spoorwegen supplies the principal rail service
within the Netherlands, supplemented by other operators such as Arriva
and Syntus, who run a few local lines. All the passenger services within
Belgium are operated by NMBS/SNCB (Nationale Maatschappij der Belgische
Spoorwegen or Société Nationale des Chemins de Fer Belges), uniting the
Flemish and Wallonian parts of the country. CFL (correctly called
Société Nationale des Chemins de Fer Luxembourgeois) has a surprisingly
large rail network, with frequent internal services and innumerable
cross-border operations, including those from Germany and France. John
Law has been visiting the railways of this part of Europe since the
early 1970s and has travelled on nearly all the lines opened to
passenger traffic. He has photographed the changing scene over the years
and has compiled a huge number of images, the best of which are within
these pages.
