NMBS/SNCB rolls out silence zones on main intercity trains

In the coming weeks and months, railroad company NMBS/SNCB will roll out silence zones on Belgium’s main IC trains. By next summer, 65% of all passengers traveling between major cities should generally be able to use them.

The quiet zones have been tested on trains between Eupen and Ostend and Brussels and Luxembourg. According to the railroad company, passengers’ reactions were very positive.

Need for silence

“Nine out of ten passengers who took seats in the silence zone said they were satisfied with the concept,” says NMBS/SNCB. “More than half said they would take the train more often as a result.”

Consequently, in addition to the train connections between Ostend and Eupen and between Brussels and Luxembourg, the connections between Kortrijk and Schaerbeek, Genk and Blankenberge, Antwerp and Charleroi, and Brussels, Namur, and Liège will be added in the coming months.

Always on the ground floor of double-deckers

The quiet zones will always be located on the ground floor of the double-decker coaches. They can be recognized by the stickers and pictograms inside and outside the carriage. NMBS/SNCB asks passengers not to talk loud or phone in the silence zones, to put the cell phone on silent, and not to set the volume of headphones or earphones too loud.