Train passengers will be asked to show their tickets more frequently before boarding as opposed to onboard the train, as SNCB believes it can help reduce arguments and confrontations against its staff.
In preparation for the change, Securial, the security service of SNCB, checked tickets at Brussels-South station on Thursday.
For in-station ticket checks, security agents line up at the entrances to the platform or along the platform itself and check the tickets of all passengers intending to reach the platform. Those who cannot show a ticket are not allowed to board the train.
Preventative checks by Securail security agents first started last year and appear to be paying off. “On average, about 4% of travellers do not have a ticket during those checks, but there are peaks of up to 40%,” said Hendrik Vanderkimpen, head of security at SNCB.
Securail plans to ramp up these inspections in the coming months. “From now on, Securail will organise random ticket checks in stations every day. These can take place at any time, at any station.” According to Vanderkimpen, in the first two months of the year, some 3,500 checks took place, accounting for around 200,000 checked travellers.
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The main goal of the increased checks is not only to encourage passengers to buy their ticket before boarding the train, but also to ensure that arguments relating to tickets are kept off trains. There were 1,9000 cases of aggression against SNCB staff reported last year, half of which related to arguments over tickets.
SNCB has recently launched a new campaign against aggression towards train and station staff. Train guards even stopped checking tickets in silent protest against the rising culture of violence towards rail company workers.
