The governor of West Flanders and the coastal mayors of municipalities with a train station want the SNCB’s free train tickets to be valid only from October onward, governor Carl Decaluwé announced.
The free rail pass, proposed by the government to revive tourism in the country, was initially supposed to be operational from Monday, 17 August but was then delayed to 7 September.
By postponing the start until October, the mayors want to avoid too busy a month of September.
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In September, “the commute begins and students take the train again. When the weather is nice and people have free tickets, the influx to the coast can get too big," Decaluwé explained.
By waiting until October to implement free tickets, "we can better spread tourism at the seaside. That is also a good thing for the catering industry at the seaside. In the autumn the coast is also a beautiful holiday destination, then the free tickets will certainly come in handy", says Decaluwé.
The governor and coastal mayors hope that their demand will be met.
The Brussels Times
