Belgium proposes ambitious passenger development plan

The Board of Directors of the National Society of Belgian Railways (SNCB) has approved a transport activity plan for the period from December 2023 to December 2026. During this time, it is planned to increase train mileage by 7.4% (to 89.5 million train-km), including the introduction of more than 2,000 additional trains by 2026, 720 of which will start running on weekends. An increase in the size of traffic should lead to an increase in the number of passengers by 30% by 2032, writes Railway Supply magazine with reference to zdmira.

Achieving these goals depends on several factors: the completion of the new infrastructure, the implementation of plans to hire more than 500 conductors and drivers, as well as Alstom’s delivery of M7 double-deck cars on time.

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The renewal of the rolling stock in the planned period will provide passengers with up to 10 thousand additional seats, increase the number of places for bicycles by 40%, and the share of trains with air conditioning should increase from 65 to 80%. It will also improve accessibility for people with limited mobility. All trains will be equipped with on-board devices of the European traffic control system ETCS (currently only 80%).

By 2026, more than half of the network’s stations will be served by additional trains, including on Friday and Saturday evenings. Particular attention is paid to meeting the demand of passengers in such large cities as Brussels, Antwerp and Liège. On Friday and Saturday evenings, almost 50 additional S-train commuter trains will be launched from Brussels and Antwerp to different cities of the country, 30 of which will run until 1 am.

Plan approved by the SNCB Board of Directors for 2023-2026 will be submitted to the Cabinet of Ministers

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