On the evening of Sunday, 25 January 2026, railway unions across Belgium have gone on strike, and they will continue to do so until the evening of Friday, 30 January. As workers are protesting against a series of government reforms regarding the railway industry in Belgium, train services are expected to be impacted all week.
From 10:00 pm on 25 January until 10:00 pm on 30 January 2026, five rail unions in Belgium will be joining forces in a strike action. Every day of the week, a different group of workers will be going on strike, thus impacting the train services of Belgium’s national rail operator SNCB/NMBS.
The union action was first called in December 2025, when a draft bill reforming the Belgian railway industry was first published. Through the bill, the Belgian government wants to modernise the management of Belgium’s public railway companies. More particularly, if the bill were to be adopted, it would put an end to the permanent civil service status within the NMBS/SNCB and the rail infrastructure group Infrabel. According to the Belgian Minister of Transport, Jean-Luc Crucke, the new initiatives should prepare the railway industry for its liberalisation scheduled for 2032.
Generally speaking, through the strike, union members are denouncing poor working conditions, pension reforms, and the deterioration of public services. In an earlier statement to the Belgian Belga News Agency, Pierre Lejeune, president of the CGSP Cheminots (General Confederation of Public Service Railway Workers), put forward the idea to stabilise and improve the current service instead of overhauling the entire system. Moreover, the unions state that the permanent civil service status guarantees a quality public service for both workers and passengers.
During the five-day strike, passengers should be aware of the impact on the national train service. Between two-thirds and three-quarters of InterCity services are expected to operate, while half to two out of three of the local and suburban trains (L and S trains) should be running. The number of operational P trains (peak trains), however, will be very low. Overall, travellers are advised to keep an eye on the SNCB/NMBS website or app to check which trains will or will not be running.
“Every day of the week, Belgium’s state-owned rail company NMBS will run an alternative train service with the staff who have indicated that they will be working. There is an ample train service throughout the country”, NMBS/SNCB spokesperson Dimitri Temmerman told the Belgian media outlet VRT NWS.
International railway services
International travellers voyaging by Eurostar, ICE, or TGV INOUI are not expected to be heavily impacted by the strikes, although they are invited to check the respective websites before heading to the train station.
Those travelling between Brussels and Rotterdam/Amsterdam in the Netherlands by EuroCity train, however, should be aware of the fact that only a quarter to half of the trains will be operated as usual. An overview of the disruptions caused by the strike can be found online.
During the SNCB/NMBS union action, workers at the Walloon TEC network will also go on strike. Bus and tram services will be heavily impacted for an indefinite period of time.
