Thirty-One Point Four

Luxembourg's national railway company, CFL, carried 31.4 million passengers in 2025. That is a new record, up 0.6% from the year before, and more than double the figure from 20 years ago. CEO Marc Wengler presented the numbers at a press conference on Monday, calling the growth encouraging even as he acknowledged that capacity limits on some lines have been reached during peak hours.[1]

The number itself tells a story of a country that has leaned hard into rail. Luxembourg made all public transport free in 2020, and the ridership growth has been steady ever since. But 31.4 million passengers on a network that was built for far fewer means the system is now straining at its seams. Wengler confirmed that capacity limits have been reached on certain lines during peak hours, and that longer trains are already being deployed on the busiest routes, including the transit corridor known as Sillon Lorrain.[2]

The financials are also a record. Group turnover rose to 1.3 billion euros, with profit at 35.3 million. Infrastructure investment alone topped 327 million euros. The single largest project is the new line between Luxembourg City and Bettembourg, expected to enter service in autumn 2027. When it opens, it will double capacity on what is currently the most overloaded route in the country, allowing trains carrying around 1'000 passengers each.[3]

But the promise of doubled capacity comes with a cost that passengers are already paying. Punctuality fell from 90.8% in 2024 to 89.6% in 2025. CFL attributes this to construction works at Howald and on the southern section of Luxembourg City station, as well as strikes in neighbouring countries. And more disruptions are coming. Wengler confirmed that there will be major closures on the Luxembourg-Bettembourg line in summer 2027 for what he called the final push, several weeks of intensive work needed to connect the new line definitively. He put this into perspective: compared with a project spanning more than a decade, a few weeks of closures remains acceptable. Passengers who have been living with reduced timetables and replacement buses for years might see it differently.[4]

Cyclists have also voiced frustration about the lack of space for bicycles on trains, particularly during peak hours. CFL acknowledged the problem and said that new trains with additional carriages would offer more bike space, along with expanded bike boxes and multimodal travel options. The promise of more space is real, but the timeline is not immediate.[5]

Customer satisfaction, at least, is trending in the right direction. CFL's quality barometer, based on a survey of nearly 7'000 people, rose to 3.84 out of 5. The company credits new waiting rooms, digital information displays in stations, larger trains, and new retail options at certain stations. It is a modest number, 3.84 out of 5, but it is moving upward, which is more than can be said for punctuality.[6]

There was also a changing of the guard. Jean-Paul Lickes will become the new chairman of CFL's board of directors, taking over from Jeannot Waringo, who is stepping down after more than four decades on the board. Lickes described the role as a major responsibility and thanked Waringo for laying solid foundations over the years. Four decades is a long time in any institution. The railways Waringo joined in the 1980s were a different country's infrastructure, serving a different country's population. The 31.4 million passengers of 2025 are riding on decisions made, and sometimes deferred, across that entire span.[7]

The new line will help. Double capacity is not a small thing on a route that currently cannot take another passenger during rush hour. But the full picture is more complicated. A decade of disruptions. Punctuality heading in the wrong direction. A satisfaction score that is improving but still below 4 out of 5. And a CEO who, while celebrating a record, is honest enough to say the system is at capacity.

Thirty-one point four million passengers. The number is impressive. The question is whether the railway can keep up with its own success long enough for the solution to arrive.