From April 13, 2025, Ouigos traveling back and forth between Paris and Brussels will stop at Saint-Quentin when they were only supposed to cross Hauts-de-France according to the SNCF transport plan. A daily stop which offers a direct connection with Belgium.
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To go by train to Brussels from Saint-Quentin, you don’t have to be in too much of a hurry. Two options are available to users today: take a TER to Maubeuge then other TERs to the Belgian capital or take a Eurostar from Paris or Lille. A long and tedious journey which takes at least 3h30.
From April 13, 2025, it will take just under 1h30 to reach the two cities. Every day, one of the classic Ouigos traveling back and forth between Paris and Brussels will stop at Saint-Quentin station. Good news for users encountered in front of the station in the Picardy town. “It’s interesting. I think it will be useful to a lot of peopleestimates Marie. It may take a little time to get set up, but it will help a lot of people. Because currently it takes a lot of time. And it can quickly get expensive. It’s still a pretty complicated journey.“
For Léo, it’s the fact of having an alternative to the road that appeals to him: “I find that good. This allows you to visit the capital of Belgium without driving several hours. Especially since the train journey will be quite quick.“
A victory for the elected officials of the territory and in particular those of the city who fought for months to impose this stop on the SNCF. “It wasn’t easyadmits Frédérique Macarez, the mayor (LR) of Saint-Quentin. For us, it was strategic. In the past, Saint-Quentin had this connection to Brussels. So it seems only natural to us to be able to benefit from it. And on an economic, cultural and tourist level, this gateway to Belgium is really very interesting. Belgians are among the first people to come to Saint-Quentin. This is a big step forward for the city and its employment area..”
Despite this enthusiasm, the potential for travelers remains uncertain. But the representative of Aisne-Nord-Oise-Somme train users believes that it exists. It is up to the SNCF to publicize this new service. And to make a few adjustments to encourage travelers to use it: “online reservation only may pose a problem for certain categories of the population, remarks Antoine Lamotte. So we may need to relax sales with an opening to other methods of purchasing and booking.“
Because the Ouigo stop at Saint-Quentin between Paris and Brussels will only be an experiment: a review clause is planned for December 2025. Due to a lack of sufficient passengers, the service will be canceled.
With Rémi Vivenot / FTV
