This case study presents the rail link Lille (France) – Tournai (Belgium). 

It explores the business model of this service, including its governance arrangements, operational provisions to develop the service and address demand, and its territorial scope. The Lille – Tournai connection is part of a network of cross-border public transport services contributing to further integration of the region across national, regional and language borders. The Eurometropolis facilitates governance processes and aims to develop an ecosystem of sustainable transport in which public transport plays an important role. The case study presents the key obstacles to the service, and solutions to these obstacles are discussed. The final section then reflects on the lessons learnt from the case study. 

This case study report is part of a series of 31 case studies developed in the framework of the study ‘Providing public transport in cross-border regions – Mapping of existing services and legal obstacles’, completed by Spatial Foresight in cooperation with TCP international, TRT trasporti e territorio and EureConsult for the European Commission’s DG REGIO.