On Friday, Belgian’s railway company NMBS/SNCB board of directors approved the future management contract. It will now be submitted to the unions for their opinion, with the federal government expected to give the final go-ahead before the end of the year.

Many details about the management contract are yet unknown. However, several broad outlines are already known, and investments planned for 2023-2024 will be postponed to the following years due to the difficult financial situation of the railway.

First contract over 10 years

The board considered three documents: the management or public services contract, a business plan, and a multi-year investment plan for 2023-2032. This is the first time that a management contract runs over ten years. The previous contract, for the period 2008-2012, expired ten years ago.

It was the second time that they came up for discussion, as adjustments had to be made after the federal government released less money for the railways than requested during the most recent budget conclave.

At the same time, with the new 10-year contract, the Belgian state entrusts NMBS/SNCB with a monopoly on public service missions for this period in the context of the liberalization of national rail traffic imposed by Europe.

Greater offer

NMBS/SNCB does not give substantive information about the adjustments, but top woman Sophie Dutordoir recently said that the ambitions remain the same. NMBS/SNCB aims for 10% more trains and 30% more passengers by 2032.

Some broad outlines of the new management agreement have already been leaked in June, though. For example, the punctuality of trains would shift from 92 to 91% in the new management contract.

There would also be more space for bicycles and suitcases on trains, accessible power sockets, and a generalization of air conditioning (94% of trains in 2032). The increase in the number of carriages should ensure an overall increase in seating capacity so that saturated trains do not exceed 2%.

By 2032, NMBS/SNCB should also offer 91,6 million train kilometers, 10% more than the current offer of 83,4 million train kilometers. The objective remains to reach two trains per hour and per direction on weekdays throughout the network and four trains per hour around major cities by 2040. And from February, train ticket prices would also rise by 10%.

Difficult financial situation

However, several investments planned for 2023-2024 would be postponed until the following years. Exactly which investments will be pushed back is not yet known.

And in the meantime, NMBS/SNCB also decided to postpone the expansion of the offer planned in December. The railway company referred to the difficult financial context, with high inflation and electricity costs, but said it was also struggling with outdated infrastructure, late deliveries of new equipment, more reports of track walkers, and staff shortages.

In 2024, NMBS/SNCB’s debt threatens to exceed 3 billion euros, well above the imposed debt ceiling that has now been raised to 2,56 billion euros. Just last week, several rail unions laid off work for three days, causing major disruption. The unions denounce the high workload and want more funds for the railways – on top of the more than 2 billion euros already promised by the government.

‘System under pressure’

Meanwhile, punctuality is also deteriorating. It fell to its lowest level since November 2018 in October, according to figures from rail operator Infrabel. “The system is under pressure,” Dutordoir said on public channels this week.

“Although the funds the government is going to allocate are substantial, they will not be enough to restore a state of affairs that has existed for too long,” she said. “We are going to stop injecting additional trains into the system for a while and first re-stabilize the system and then rebuild.”

Currently, NMBS/SNCB employs 16 700 instead of the 17 000 necessary to keep services running smoothly. Those 300 additional recruits for train staff will now be accelerated, and there will be more flexible apprenticeship and training conditions.

‘New era for NMBS/SNCB’

The text will now thus be submitted to the unions for their opinion. At the same time, they will be officially handed over to the government. Final approval, along with that of a performance contract with rail network operator Infrabel, should come at a council of ministers on 23 December.

“The aim now is for the government to approve these two contracts before the end of the year so that they can come into force on 1 January and signal the start of a new era for Belgian railways,” said Mobility Minister Georges Gilkinet (Ecolo). It should be remembered that the objective of Gilkinet’s Railway Vision 2040 is to double the share of rail in the mobility of people and goods over the next 17 years.