There are more than two dozens (!) of cross-border trains and buses within the Euregio Meuse-Rhine. In the cities Aachen, Maastricht, Liège, and Eupen, you find busses, trains, and ticketing machines from two or even three countries. This website is a unique overview on all connections, so best filter for the cities you are interested in:
Find below the ticketing options that allow for subscriptions in two or three countries at once. One option for common exploration is the common Euregioticket. With up to two people and three children (on weekends), you can criss-cross your new region the whole day long for 19€. With this overview, find handy advice on how to (cheaply) travel the Euregio without a car.
Click to travel within and across your region(s):
Nordrhein Westfalen
Deutschsprachige Gemeinschaft
Provinz Lüttich
Provinz Limburg (BE)
Provinz Limburg (NL)
DE
BE
NL
The Euregioticket
It costs just €19 to travel across all local and regional transport in all three countries all day long. For the same €19, on weekends and public holidays you can even travel with the whole family (two adults and three children under 12).
The Euregioticket is the easiest way for exploring the euroregion, the ticket is available at ticketing machines, bus drivers and online-/app-based ticketing.
Cost: €19 for two persons per day on weekends and three kids from up to 12 years
In all three countries, you find automats and internet ticketing. In the Netherlands, with a Euregioticket you can ask for special passing through gates that regularly open with OV-chip cards only. Exceptions are for the high-speed connections Thalys in between Aachen and Liège.
Weekends & all holidays
Cost: €19 for two people per day on weekends, additionally the ticket is also valid for up to three children under 12 years old.
For an additional 4€, you can also take your bike. During the week traveling with a bike is often restricted to off-peak hours but on weekends and in the Dutch summer holidays in July and August there are no restrictions. Please be aware, that the number of bikes on the train is often limited and most buses do not allow bikes at all.
You can buy the additional ticket in Germany and the Netherlands. You can also buy a bike ticket for a single journey within Belgium, and travel to Germany or the Netherlands.
Bicycles
For an additional €4, you can take your bicycle with you in public transport (where it is allowed) – all day, across the entire Euregio Meuse-Rhine.
Belgium, where the country-wide bike ticket for €4 is also valid in the Dutch and German parts of the Euregio Meuse-Rhine.
For climate-friendly, multi-modal transport, find the best city infrastructure in both, BE and especially NL Limburg, and the Ravel networks and Vennbahn in Germany and Belgium, allowing for a smooth crossing of hills and valleys on former railroad paths.
Reach & usability
The ticket covers the major connections in the Euregion Meuse-Rhine area, including most trains and all busses in the three countries.
Nearly all public transport connections within the Euregio Meuse-Rhine can be used. The “Schnellverkehrsplan”, map of fast public transport, illustrates the major public connections below.
Exceptions are the high-speed trains (Thalys, ICE) and some trains in the Province of Liège. To find all details at one glance, head to the brief info and download or find the map “Karte des Geltungsbereichs” on AVV provider’s information.
Travelling across two cities in three countries
AVV / Smilla Dankert
This selection is by no means complete, but gives a first orientation on crossing the border by train and bus.
At Aachen Hbf, there is a Belgian (SNCB) and a Dutch (Arriva) ticketing machine. The customer counter of Deutsche Bahn also sells the Dutch OV-chipcard.
A Belgian ticketing machine can also be found at Maastricht’s main train station.
A De Lijn (Flanders) ticketing machine can be found in Liège.
Aachen – Maastricht:
Students from RWTH, FH Aachen, KatHo and MHS universities can go back and forth for free with their Semestertickets. Find the listing of all bus and train connections via Aachener Verkehrsverbund (German only)
An Euregioticket costs €19 for travel across the Euregio Meuse-Rhine. On weekends, one other adult and three children can be taken for free;
Bus: 2-4x per hour, tickets are available on the bus (cashless only) and valid for a return journey on the bus (Dal Dagkaart Bus for 7,40€). These are more expensive during peak hours, that is before 9am on weekdays.
Aachen – Heerlen (NL):
Heerlen is part of North Rhine-Westphalia's "NRW-Tarif", connected with Aachen by bus line 44 and RE18 train;
Students from RWTH and FH Aachen universities can go back and forth for free with their Semestertickets;
You can extend a season ticket of the Aachen Verkehrsverbund AVV beyond the association's borders with the "EinfachWeiterTicket" for € 6.80. This allows you to travel further from Heerlen, for example, to Cologne, Düsseldorf or Dortmund.
The same benefits as for Heerlen is for the direct connection (cf. Arriva) between Aachen and the cross-border business - park Avantis.
Aachen – Vaals (NL)
Vaals is part of Aachen's city tarif (Preisstufe 1C). If you have an AVV-abo, you can use all bus lines to Vaals including (Arriva-)busses on line 350 without additional costs.
Travelling in AVV fare; Kerkrade is part of Preisstufe 2 in Aachen, with a subscription you can use bus line 34 from Aachen to Kerkrade without additional costs.
Some stops in Herzogenrath (DE) are just 100m away from Kerkrade.
Fares for North Rhine-Westphalia can be used (Schöner Tag Ticket, NRW-Tarif etc.).
Aachen – Belgian seaside:
Aachen has its spot on the usual map of Belgian train ticketing. That is why a one-way ticket to towns like Leuven, Brussels, Gent, Bruges or Ostende (train station 400m walk from the seaside) costs only €8.60 for young aduls up to 25 years if bought with more rides in the youth-pass Aachen. As long as you do not change direction, you can stop in each of the above mentioned cities, with more information on the GrensTreinBus website in Dutch.
If your age is beyond 25, you can buy a go-pass for ten rides across Belgium - and add a little fee to go to Welkenraedt
Direct IC-trains run from Eupen or Welkenraedt
Tickets from Aachen to the Belgian coast are available at the Belgian ticketing machine in Aachen main station or online from SNCB
Aachen - Liège
Train: 1x per hour, about 50 minutes, currently an interchange in Welkenraedt is required. One ride should not cost more than €8.60 with youthpass Aachen. Note that you also have the direct option to go by high-speed Thalys. The journey is much more expensive but takes 21 minutes only;
Monthly ticket is €177, to Verviers this is €118;
Bus: Note that once you are in French and German speaking Belgium, a ride with a max. 90 minutes should not cost more than €3.00, a whole day of travelling around is €8.00.
Maastricht – Liège:
Train: 1x per hour, 33 minutes, regular price for an adult is €7.00. To Visé halfway, the price is €4.50 (detailed info in Dutch);
Bus: 4x - 6x connections per day, 65 minutes, €3.00 (with the TEC-Horizon card for a max. ride of 90 minutes) or €8.00 for a whole day with the TEC- Horizon dagkaart for the whole of Wallonia (including German-speaking East-Belgium). detailed info in Dutch). Regular tickets can be used up to Maastricht.
Maastricht – Belgian seaside:
Train: The youth pass for young adults and regular tickets are available at the ticketing machine at Maastricht station. With the Belgian youth-ticket equivlent to the go-pass, take any train between Maastricht and any Belgian destination for €8.60 only (interchange via Liège or Hasselt, about three hours).
Bus: Even (slighty) cheaper but much longer: Take a daypass for all busses and transport of de Lijn, including their coastal tram - daypass should be taken literally, as this journey takes its time.
Maastricht – Hasselt:
Bus: 1x per hour (except for Sundays), 62 minutes, €2.00/€2.50 for a single ride of one hour.
For €16.00, you can also get a ten-journey lijnkaart. Tickets cannot be purchanes on busses, only in Lijnwinkels and via mobile or SMS-ticket.
For all abo-holders, the ride is for free, e.g. omnipass that costs €49.00 per month (all of De Lijn's connections)
Note that other bus fares within Hasselt cost only €0.60 each.
Maastricht - Genk
Bus: 1x per hour (except for sundays), 53 minutes, €2.00/€2.50 for a single ride of one hour. For €16.00, you can also get a ten-journey lijnkaart; Tickets cannot be purchanes on busses, only in Lijnwinkels and via mobile or SMS-ticket.
For all abo holders, the ride is for free, e.g. omnipass for €49.00 for one month (all of De Lijn's connections)
Maastricht – Tongeren (BE):
Bus: 1x per hour (except for sundays), 40 minutes, €2.00/€2.50 for a single ride of one hour. For €16.00, you can also get a ten-journey lijnkaart; Tickets cannot be purchanes on busses, only in Lijnwinkels and via mobile or SMS-ticket.
For all abo holders, the ride is for free, e.g. omnipass for €49.00 for one month (all of De Lijn's connections)
Tarifs for North Rhine-Westphalia can be used (Schöner Tag Ticket, NRW-Tarif etc.).
Roermond (NL) – Heinsberg (DE)
1x per hour, 40 minutes. Free in the abo;
Tarifs for North Rhine-Westphalia can be used (Schöner Tag Ticket, NRW-Tarif etc.).
More info
This page is a brief summary of multiple sources and resources freely available. Find some of the most helpful extra ones below, and in the keywords throughout all this page.
This site allows for a highly detailed overview on all cross-border connections from and to Belgium. Fully Dutch, several extensive summaries and additional maps provide comprehensive info. Some info on this page got inspired by the connections enlisted.
Frequent travels across borders
Subscriptions offer a much cheaper option compared to single tickets. A short bus ride within Aachen costs €2.80 – the same price will take you from Aachen to Vaals (NL) or to Kelmis (BE). Prices and conditions for monthly season tickets vary between €30 – €150. In the Netherlands and Belgium, the actual distance is important, in Germany the fare varies from the amount of zones you cross. For regular routes crossing the Euregio, you will find fares from one of the providers. Depending on your situation, a combination of fares from two or even more providers can make for a cheaper option.
Aachen – Liège:
€177 for one month, if purchased regularly the price is slightly cheaper.
Aachen – Verviers (BE):
€118 for one month, if purchased regularly the price is slightly cheaper.
Aachen – Vaals (NL)/Kelmis (BE)
Free ride within Aachen city abo, €71 for one month in Preisstufe 1C, if purchased regularly the price is slightly cheaper.
If you have any monthly ticket from AVV (e.g. city-xl fare for €41,50), your connection to any major city within the transportation districts of VRS (Verkehrsbund-Rhein-Sieg) or VRR (Verkerhrsbund Rhein-Ruhr) costs €6.80, with the einfachweiterticket, as these places are part of the NRW-Tarif.
AVV / Smilla Dankert
Student fares across the border
If you are student from Aachen, with the Semesterticket you can go with all trains (except ICE) in North Rhine-Westphalia - and up to Heerlen and Maastricht.
For (Dutch) students in the Netherlands, the student ov-chipkaart might offer great possibilities to travel the country. For students in Hasselt and Liège student prices for trains in Belgium apply. For international students in the Netherlands and especially German students in the Dutch province of Limburg, a student needs to fullfill several criteria to receive a student ov-chipkaart (duration of stay, minimum amount of working hours).
For students:
Student multi (campus) for 5x return journeys within 49 days. Eupen (German-speaking community of Belgium) to Brussesl or the sea in Oostende makes only €2.49 each trip.
For high-school-students:
Schöne-Ferien-Ticket NRW. This season pass costs €62 for the NRW-summer holidays (six weeks, times vary), €31 for Autumn, Christmas and Easter holidays (two weeks each)
This fare is also valid from e.g. Kelmis (BE), Vaals, Kerkrade and Heerlen (all NL).
Long distances
Airports
If you are headed on a longer journey: Note that except for the regional airports of Aachen/Maastricht and Liège have only limited passenger connections. Within the reach of one to two hours, the closest airports are Cologne, Düsseldorf, Dortmund or Frankfurt (GER), Eindhoven, Schiphol (NL), Brussels and Charleroi (BE) and possibly Luxemburg (LUX, a country where public transport is for free). For getting to the German airports except for Frankfurt, a ticket for five people for a whole day might turn out cheaper than buying two one-way tickets. The low-cost airports Charleroi, Eindhoven and Dortmund can be reached by private bus companies at a higher fare only.
Long-distance coaches
Coaches depart from the larger cities, for long distances or potentially just to the next city. Flixbus is market leader in Western Europe and started to provide occasional train connections, too ("flixtrain").
Long-distance trains
The international Thalys high-speed-train stops in Aachen and Liège, and is a direct connection to go to Paris.