French-speaking students and trade union youth branches partied on-board a train on Thursday in protest of Belgian National Railway Company (SNCB) price hikes.
Equipped with champagne, canapés and confetti, over 30 protestors boarded the 12:09 train from Brussels-Midi to Brussels-Zaventem with the aim of highlighting rising public transport costs and young peoples' financial difficulties.
SNCB announced it was raising its prices by 5.9% start from 1 February, a move the railway company has explained corresponds to changes in consumer price indexation. President of the Federation of French-Speaking Students (FEF) Emila Hoxhaj is critical of the increase, saying it disregards students' current financial reality.
"Faced with growing insecurity, particularly as students, many of us can no longer afford the cost of a ticket on the SNCB," she told Belga News Agency. "Fares had already risen last year and are still rising today."
Credit: Belga
Protestors are calling for the Federal Government to introduce a low-cost annual youth ticket for SNCB trains, much like the yearly €12 fare currently offered by Stib, the public transport operator in Brussels, and TEC, the Walloon equivalent.
Environmental concerns play a part in young peoples' frustration too. Protestors cannot understand why the SNCB would raise prices when encouraging public transport use is integral to the green transition.
"Incentivising the public to use public transport – which is more sustainable than cars – requires more than continuous fare hikes," said Hoxhaj. "This won’t inspire anyone to travel by train."
