Miljoenenlijn

The line from Schaesberg to Simpelveld and on towards Aachen was built in the 1930s to carry coal out of the Limburg pits, and the terrain - the only genuinely hilly ground in the Netherlands, with valleys, gradients and the need for cuttings and viaducts - made it far more expensive per kilometre than anything else in the Dutch network, which is where the name Miljoenenlijn, the millions line, comes from. The mines closed and the traffic went. Since the 1980s a volunteer foundation has run it as a heritage railway: steam and vintage diesel through South Limburg between Simpelveld, Kerkrade and Schin op Geul, with a cross-border service to Vetschau in Germany, and a depot and workshop at Simpelveld. The scenery is real hills by Dutch standards, and the route passes the mining landscape and the Geul valley.

What you actually see

• A line named for its cost - the most expensive kilometre-for-kilometre in the network.
• Steam through hills - the only genuinely hilly railway scenery in the country.
• A cross-border service - trains running into Germany at Vetschau.
• A depot at Simpelveld - the workshop and rolling stock collection.

When to go

April to October. A day.

Honest expectations

Seasonal and does not run every day - check the timetable and book. Steam is not on every service. Carriages are period and basic. The cross-border service runs on limited dates.

Nearby

Valkenburg and the caves are north-west; Kerkrade and GaiaZOO are east.