In what has become a regular occurrence for commuters in Belgium, rail traffic will again be disrupted by a strike, this time for a whole week. An alternative minimal train service will be arranged per day.
The independent railway union METISP-Protect is organising a week-long strike affecting all Belgian rail employees, regardless of their department, from Sunday, 23 March (from 22:00) to Sunday, 30 March (at 22:00/last train). National rail operator SNCB/NMBS has confirmed that fewer trains will run as a result of the action.
"The impact of the strike will vary from day to day and may be greater on weekdays than at weekends," the company said. "We will organise an alternative train service every day based on the available personnel." Staff will decide each day whether or not they will participate. The union confirmed staff will take turns to strike: affiliated train drivers will offload strike days with train conductors.
SNCB/NMBS lamented the fact that METISP-Protect decided to organise a strike despite the consultation meetings that have taken place with the federal ministers Minister for Mobility Jean-Luc Crucke (Les Engagés) and Pensions Minister Jan Jambon (N-VA).
"SNCB/NMBS, Infrabel [railway infrastructure company] and HR Rail [the legal employer of rail personnel] find this strike action totally unacceptable, irresponsible and disproportionate, and regret the consequences for the 900,000 passengers transported every day."
Planning ahead
Train services will be visible 24 hours in advance in the journey planner (via the company's website or app). Passengers are advised to always check the planning the day before. For example, to find out how the strike will affect travel on Monday 24 March, passengers can see which trains will be operating from the morning of Sunday 23 March.
The transport plan (how many trains will run per train type) will be published 48 hours in advance here. For example, the train service for Monday 24 March will be available from Saturday 22 March. But it is still advised to check the journey planner before leaving for the station.
Affected passengers can download a strike certificate up to seven days after the strike on the SNCB/NMBS website to prove their train was cancelled.
The first full day of the nine-day strike in February 2025. Credit: Belga/ Nicolas Maeterlinck
Initially, SNCB/NMBS said international train traffic to and from Belgium (such as Eurostar, TGV INOUI, EuroCity, Eurocity Direct, ICE, and OUIGO) would not be disrupted.
However, Eurostar confirmed on Friday that it will cancel two trains between Paris and Brussels on Monday. Affected passengers will be informed and can exchange their tickets free of charge or receive a refund. If other journeys are cancelled, the passengers concerned will be informed.
In addition, several Eurocity trains between Rotterdam and Brussels will also be cancelled next week, said Dutch railway company NS. Passengers are advised to check the SNCB international travel page for updates.
Why are unions striking?
The METISP-Protect union said the mobilisation is necessary to defend workers' rights, stating that the government reforms "threaten the quality of public service and the working conditions of railway personnel".
The union strongly opposes the planned abolition of HR-Rail, which it says "jeopardises the integrated model of the Belgian railway service"; the planned cutback of €250 million by 2029; the deterioration of the status of employees; the increase in the retirement age for train drivers; and gradual replacement of the civil service statute by private contracts.
This is not the first rail strike this year, and it certainly won't be the last. The day after this week-long strike ends, a general strike will be held on Monday 31 March. The two major rail unions ACOD Spoor and ACV-Transcom will take part.
In total, the two major unions will be organising 18 days of strikes between now and July. Meanwhile, the Belgian train drivers' union ASTB-SACT (a smaller rail union), announced earlier this week that it has major strike plans for the coming months.
The Autonomous Union of Train Drivers wants to strike for six days in April and two weeks per month from May. The union argued that politicians "remain deaf" to the railway unions, despite the various strikes that have already taken place in recent weeks.
