Belgium’s National Railway Service (SNCB) will deploy extra trains to and from the coast from Thursday to Sunday in anticipation of the nice weather ahead.
Extra trains from Antwerp are not planned, but according to spokesman Dimitri Temmerman, this has nothing to do with the restrictive measures in force.
"The NMBS is putting these extra trains into service because we expect that more passengers will want to take the train to the coast when the weather is nice," Temmerman said. "We want to respond to this with this extra offer, so that train travel can be safe for everyone".
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Ten extra trains per day will be scheduled on Thursday and Friday and 14 extra trains will be deployed on Saturday and Sunday. They will each leave a few minutes before or after the regular trains. "This will make it easier for passengers to divide themselves between the different trains. They will run at maximum capacity, as they have since the beginning of the coronavirus crisis.
On Thursday and Friday, additional trains will depart from Arlon, Leuven, Ghent and Hasselt. On Saturday and Sunday they will leave from Hasselt, Leuven, Schaerbeek and Welkenraedt. They will ride in the direction of Ostend and Blankenberge.
Ostend introduced a reservation system for its three busiest beaches for the second time, after setting it up for the long weekend ahead of the National holiday.
Spots can be reserved for 30 July to 2 August. The city has already received 12,500 reservations, with most people opting for Friday, when temperatures are expected to rise above 30 degrees.
A total of 15,000 people are allowed on the three beaches each day, the city announced on Wednesday.
So far there are 3,300 reservations for Thursday, 5,100 for Friday, 3,000 for Saturday and 1,100 for Sunday.
You can register free of charge via the website of Visit Ostend, at the city’s tourist office or its UiTloket, or the free number 0800/62.167.
Jason Spinks
The Brussels Times
