This Thursday, the SNCB again reminded passengers they can call freephone 0800/30 230 to report any suspicious behaviour they might see on the rail network. “Safety is everyone’s responsibility, 24/7,” it quoted, eager to comment on last Friday’s incident on a Thalys train and highlight the role passengers played in it.”
“In addition to the precautions we have already taken, and we do not want to stir people into a psychotic frenzy, but it is very important that passengers remain vigilant. The current state of affairs within society requires us to work together to keep it safe, to get each other’s backs,” commented transport minister Jacqueline Galant.
The SNCB set up a hotline in 2005 so passengers could “report any suspicious objects or anyone behaving suspiciously, whether it be a theft, an assault, a bag left lying around or someone behaving strangely. The caller gets through to a member of the SOC (Security Operations Center) who will analyse the information and organise, if necessary, a team on the ground to investigate.”
According to SOC figures, passengers and SNCB staff made over 76,000 calls to the SOC in 2014, resulting in 55,438 operations on the ground, 28,600 of which were made by Securail. The remaining operations were carried out by the police, the fire services and SNCB departments,” concludes the SNCB.
(Source: Belga)
