A royal opening on June 8 marked the on-time completion of a $325-million (€260 million) tunnel project to improve links between Brussels airport with the rest of Belgium and neighboring France and Germany. As rail services start through the new Diabolo project, the same construction team is on course to completing the larger Liefkenshoek rail tunnel in the port of Antwerp, 45 kilometers to the north.
Diabolo links Brussels airport with the also newly opened LN25 dual-track line to its north. Built by the government's railroad infrastructure manager Infrabel S.A., Brussels, the new line runs between Schaerbeek and Mechelen on the way to Antwerp and the Netherlands. Previously, the airport's rail connection was on the south, from the line to Germany.