NMBS/SNCB launches new timetable, ditches Wi-Fi on train idea

NMBS/SNCB’s new timetable has been in effect since Sunday, although today, due to the many commuters on the first working day of the week, provides the first real major test.

The Belgian public railroad company’s offer is expanding by almost 2% to 85,6 million km per year, and more than 200 abolished rides are returning. However, one hourly service between Antwerp and Brussels is also disappearing.

NMBS/SNCB is also definitively burying the idea of providing Wi-Fi on trains. The reason is the cost, which is at least 173 million euros. However, the windows will be modified so that there is a better 5G mobile data connection on the train.

Return of the Dampoort Express

The new train connections are mainly in suburban S-traffic. Around Antwerp, the S-train between Puurs, Antwerp, and Essen will now run twice an hour on Saturdays. Around Ghent, an S-train will run every hour all day between Ghent, Lokeren, Oudenaarde, and Ronse, and the Dampoort Express toward Brussels will also return to its original schedule, i.e., during the morning rush hour.

In Limburg, there will again be two trains per hour between Landen and Hasselt instead of one previously, but the direct IC-trains Blankenberge-Genk will not go beyond Hasselt during the week.

Also, from June 2025, the S81 between Schaerbeek, Brussels-Schuman, Ottignies, and Louvain-la-Neuve will run all day instead of only during rush hour. Many changes have also been made in the Brussels suburban S-network, making a series of connections difficult.

On the other hand, only four instead of five IC trains per hour will run on weekdays on the important rail axis between Antwerp and Brussels. The NMBS/SNCB lost space to international train provider Eurostar on the track. Trains are also disappearing on the lines toward the Flemish periphery around Brussels, and the direct train from Liedekerke to Ghent is also disappearing.

Return of 220 abolished rides

In addition to the nearly 2% expansion, which includes three IC trains a day between Brussels and Paris, NMBS/SNCB is also bringing back 220 trains a week that had previously been canceled due to staffing problems. These include a second hourly S-train during peak hours between Antwerp and Herentals and several P-trains around Ghent, Geraardsbergen, and Kortrijk.

NMBS/SNCB originally planned to expand its offerings. However, a shortage of train drivers forced the railroad company to postpone several projects, including late-evening and weekend trains. It does, however, maintain its ambition to expand the train offer by 10% by 2032 (compared to 2022). The number of passengers should increase by 30% during that period.

Travelers can check whether their train’s schedule has changed via the NMBS/SNCB journey planner, on the website or in the app.

No Wi-Fi on trains

Meanwhile, it has also become clear that NMBS/SNCB is burying the idea of providing Wi-Fi on trains. The stumbling block is the cost of no less than 150 million euros, with on top of that an operational cost of 13 million euros, writes the newspaper Het Nieuwsblad, among others. Moreover, trains would have to be immobilized for the installation, and additional personnel would have to be hired for the maintenance.

However, the windows are being modified so that there is a better data connection on the train, allowing travelers to surf via 4G or 5 G. Specifically, the coating of the windows of the trains is now being modified for this purpose so that the phone signal gets better into the train. According to resigned Mobility Minister Georges Gilkinet (Ecolo), this operation would cost some 40 million euros.

At the same time, Gilkinet does not hide the fact that there is insufficient GSM coverage along some parts of the Belgian rail network.