The trains in Germany may run on time, but the ones in Belgium run on solar.

Belgium railway operator Infrabel is about to install 16,000 photovoltaic solar panels on the roof of a high-speed train tunnel along the country’s E19 Highway, according to a press release.

Infrabel has partnered with Belgian solar-industry leader Enfinity.

The panels will produce 3.3 megawatts of power, enough to run Infrabel’s entire 4,000-plus trains for a day, said Jurgen VanDamme, marketing director for Enfinity.

“Now is the time,” VanDamme said, “because we have at this moment a very interesting incentive program from the government for solar power.”

The Belgian government recently began offering major tax and financial incentives to businesses that implement green energy improvements.

The tunnel where the panels will be installed stretches just over two miles and separates the highway from a protected forest, VanDamme said. The tunnel is only about five years old, and Infrabel is still finishing much of its infrastructure, which makes the tunnel a perfect candidate for Enfinity’s solar system, VanDamme said.

The surface area of the tunnel is equivalent to about eight football fields, according to Enfinity’s press release. The trains that travel through the tunnel primarily service passenger trains going from Amsterdam to Paris and back. The solar panels should be installed and fully functional by the end of this year. VanDamme said.

The total cost of the project is a little more than $20 million, according to the press release.

In addition to installing one of the largest PV arrays in the country, engineers have had to specially handle these panels to sustain regular vibration from the trains that pass through the tunnel.

Enfinity CEO Patrick Decyper explained in the company’s press release how Enfinity would minimize problems from train vibrations.

Installers will use a special ballast tile structure, the release states.

Infrabel will use the green energy the panels generate in the Antwerp North-South junction and to power both conventional and high-speed trains running on the Amsterdam-Brussels-Paris line, according to the release.

“It’s a big project,” VanDamme said. “And it’s a good time.”

Pictured: One of Infrabel's many trains. Image courtesy of treinfoto2000.be.