A strike from employees of the Belgian National Rail Service SNCB that was initially planned for 18 October has been moved forward to start tonight instead.
The strike will start at 22:00 on Tuesday, 4 October, and end 24 hours later, at 22:00 on Wednesday, 5 October. The unions representing the rail workers have revealed the decision to move the strike forward was taken in light of the budgetary meetings being held in the government.
Budgets are now being decided, including the rail budget for the next 10 years. We need to put pressure on the government to provide sufficient financial resources to Belgian railways.
Trade unions
The federal government of Belgium begins the budget planning meeting this weekend, so the industrial actions had to be moved to this week. Once the authorities establish a plan, it must be submitted to the EU for approval in the next two weeks.
The SNCB employees are citing deteriorating working conditions and insufficient recruitment, which has unavoidably led to cancelled trains due to staff shortages. “The trade unions point out the need for the government to provide sufficient financial resources for the Belgian railways”, said a spokeswoman for HR Rail, the publicly owned firm that employs SNCB workers, quoted by The Bulletin.
The strike will severely disrupt traffic across the entire country. Only 2 in 5 IC trains will be running, only 1 in 4 S and L trains, the majority of the P trains, which usually run in the mornings and evenings, will not run. Regions and stations will be impacted differently, with no trains at all running in the provinces of Namur and Luxembourg.
Regarding trains to Brussels Airport:
- IC trains Knokke – Bruges – Ghent – Brussels – Brussels Airport run all day
- IC trains Brussels Airport – Brussels – Enghien – Ath – Tournai run partially
- IC trains Antwerp – Mechelen – Brussels Airport – Leuven – Aarschot – Hasselt are mostly cancelled
- IC trains Ostend – Kortrijk – Zottegem – Brussels – Brussels Airport are mostly cancelled
- IC trains Brussels Airport – Brussels-Luxembourg – Namur – Dinant are cancelled
- IC trains Brussels Airport – Brussels – Braine-le-Comte – Mons are cancelled
Commuters are advised to work from home on Wednesday, if possible. All passengers are advised to check the SNCB website or mobile app for the updated timetable when planning their trip and seek alternative means of transport.
