While only delays of over five minutes are taken into account for railway operator SNCB's punctuality reports, the company will now let passengers know why their trains are running late if the delay is 90 seconds or longer.
Since 2007, the reason for a delay was only made public if it related to a "significant incident" – often leaving passengers stuck on a train wondering why their journey was not continuing as planned.
Examples of the "minor delays" that will be shown are a slightly delayed departure, traffic regulation problems, a large number of passengers on the platform (prolonging boarding) or an unplanned crossing with another train.
By doing this, SNCB and Infrabel hope to draw attention to structural issues in Belgium's "very fragile" railway network, especially during peak hours. "Over the last ten years, the number of scheduled trains has increased by 10% and the number of passengers by 18%, on a network that has not been proportionally extended."
While external factors such as accidents, intrusions on the tracks, and the impact of delays abroad are often seen as the main reasons for Belgium's delays, SNCB hopes to show that there is more to it than that: the railway's infrastructure is unable to cope with demand, and minor delays can create a "snowball effect," says SNCB.
Belgium in Brief
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