The new, international railway station in Mons is being inaugurated today (Friday 31 January). Outgoing Federal Minister of Mobility Georges Gilkinet (Ecolo), however, is boycotting the celebration. He argues the project opposes everything he aimed to do in his four-year term.
The station in Mons (Hainaut province) opened last month. It immediately regained its international status with the launch of the new low-cost Ouigo connection between Paris and Brussels, connecting the two capitals in three hours with three daily round trips in each direction.
While the opening of an additional Belgian international railway hub would ordinarily be welcomed by Gilkinet, who is an avowed train nerd and has for years pushed for more domestic, international and night trains, the Mobility Minister will be boycotting the inauguration on Friday.
Opening of the new Mons train station. Credit: Belga/Eric Lalmand
"I will not be taking part in the official inauguration of Mons Station," he said in a statement, seen by The Brussels Times. "As the outgoing Minister for Mobility, I have decided not to associate my four years of railway service with what is one of the worst pieces of ill-considered public spending of the last two decades," he added.
Delays and skyrocketing costs
The official inauguration of the building, designed by Spaniard Santiago Calatrava, was scheduled for 2023. This was still eight years behind the original schedule as the project ran into various funding problems and construction delays.
The initial budget was €37 million, but the latest estimate announced by SNCB's station director, Patrick Couchard, is €480 million. The annual maintenance is estimated to cost nearly €1 million.
Opening of the new Mons train station. Credit: Belga / Eric Lalmand
"Whatever you may think of the architectural qualities of the work, this station is the exact opposite of the railway policy I have pursued for four years: the symbol of an inglorious past, characterised by prestige choices, pointless spending and petty arrangements between friends, rather than serving the public and greener mobility," Gilkinet said.
Green transport for everyone
He argued that the public resources devoted to trains should be used to run more of them, earlier in the morning and later in the evening, including at weekends, and to increase comfort, safety and punctuality. The budget should also be used to ensure more passengers can afford to travel by train.
"The decisions taken in previous legislatures since this project began in April 2004 have led to a scandalous final bill, to the detriment of public finances, to the detriment of the rail service and also to the accessibility of other stations in the region," he said. He added that, above all, it is to the detriment of every single citizen. "The money spent in Mons is now money that isn't available elsewhere, where it's urgently needed."
He concluded that, if the contracts and budget trajectories that the outgoing government decided on are respected, the number of fully accessible stations in Belgium will double by 2032. "Rather than a ribbon-cutting ceremony, I would like to end this term of office by confirming this commitment, investing in greener mobility for everyone."
