The week-long rail strike impacting train traffic across the country is entering its final days. The alternative service put in place at the end of the working week will be comparable to the situation in previous days.
The independent railway union METISP-Protect is organising a week-long strike from Sunday 23 March (from 22:00) to Sunday 30 March (at 22:00/last train), affecting all Belgian rail employees. National rail operator SNCB/NMBS has confirmed that fewer trains will run due to the action.
A reduced alternative train service is being offered every day based on available staff. The impact differs every day, explained by the variation in staff who are called to strike. Staff can decide for themselves whether to participate in this weekends' strike action. There should now be slightly more trains running compared to previous days.
On Saturday 29 and Sunday 30 March, the alternative train service is as follows (approximately):
- On Saturday, eight in ten IC (InterCity) trains will run (around 80%). They directly connect major cities and only stop at the biggest stations.
- On the same day, a similar number of S (suburban) trains and L (local) trains will run (around 70%). S trains run at fixed times in and around major cities, stopping at most stations. L trains run between the major cities but stop at every station along the route.
- On Sunday, eight in ten trains (IC, S, L) will run. Student (P) trains to Brussels, Leuven, and Ghent will run as usual on Sunday.
- Across the weekend, no trains will stop at the Brussels stations of Saint-Gilles station, Tour & Taxis, Brussels-West, Forest-Midi, Simonis, as well as numerous rural Flemish and Walloon towns. Other rail services will be replaced by a SNCB/NMBS bus service.
International trains
Over the weekend, international rail travel will also be affected. Half the number of trains will run on the EuroCity Direct line between Brussels and Amsterdam. On the EuroCity route between Brussels and Rotterdam, ten in 16 trains will run.
TGV OUIGO services between Brussels and Paris will take slightly longer due to planned maintenance work and will not stop in Mons. Some night trains will also be disrupted.
The SNCB/NMBS website provides passengers with an overview of the services per train type (IC, S, L) and per station (where few or no trains stop).
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The weekend strikes will immediately be succeeded by a general strike on Monday 31 March. This will also disrupt train traffic as the two major rail unions ACOD Spoor and ACV-Transcom will take part.
SNCB will communicate an alternative timetable to travellers through the SNCB/NMBS app and website on Sunday.
Several other unions have announced plans to strike on sporadic days in the coming months. On Wednesday, unions confirmed they would be aligning actions. This will likely lead to fewer, more coordinated strikes with a greater impact over the coming months.
