Two railway unions are going on strike from Friday, disrupting train traffic across Belgium for nine days. Find out how this will impact you below.
Train traffic in Belgium will be disrupted at the end of this week and all of next week. The Independent Trade Union of Railway Personnel (OVS) called on its members to strike for a full nine days, from 22:00 on Friday 21 February until 22:00 on Sunday 2 March.
Coinciding with this strike, the Belgian Autonomous Union of Train Drivers (ASTB-SACT) also submitted a strike notice for a full working week. The union plans to take action from 22:00 on Sunday 23 February until 22:00 on Friday 28 February. The strike notices apply to all staff and across the entire country.
Both strikes are directed at several Federal Government measures, including raising the retirement age for train drivers and scrapping small train stations. The double strike is expected to cause severe disruption for train passengers.
Credit: Belga / Eric Lalmand
"We expect there will be fewer trains running than usual," national railway operator SNCB's spokesperson Dimitri Temmerman told The Brussels Times.
During the 13 January strike (trains were not affected during the most recent strike on 13 February), just one in three IC trains and one in five local trains (S and L) were running. Not a single rush-hour (P) train was in service.
Planning ahead
A minimal alternative train service will be offered for every strike day based on the staff available. Staff will decide each day whether or not they will participate. As there is an overlap of the strikes on some days, the impact will differ per day.
"We cannot say at this stage which trains will or will not be running," Temmerman said. "All the trains that will be running will be shown on the journey planner via the SNCB app or website."
Passengers are advised to always check the planning the day before. For example, to find out how the strike will affect travel on Saturday, passengers can see which trains will be operating from Friday morning. "The situation can change from one day to the next, so the most important advice is to consult travel planners continuously."
International train traffic to and from Belgium (such as Eurostar, TGV INOUI, EuroCity, Eurocity Direct, ICE, etc) is currently not expected to be disrupted. However, passengers are advised to check the SNCB international travel page for updates.
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"Consider alternative services if you are travelling on our cross-border local trains to and from Lille, Maubeuge, Luxembourg, Roosendaal, Maastricht or Aachen or if you need to take a local connection in Belgium before or after your international journey," SNCB noted.
Affected passengers can download a strike certificate up to seven days after the strike on the SNCB website to prove their train was cancelled.
The two largest rail unions, ACOD Spoor and ACV-Transcom, have also announced a series of actions and rotating strikes. These will take place several times a month from March to July.
