Agents of Securail, the security service of Belgian railway company NMBS/SNCB, had to intervene 32 000 times last year. That is an average of almost 90 interventions per day. This is reported by the newspaper La Dernière Heure.

NMBS/SNCB also plans to recruit 150 new staff for its Securail security service this year. Recruitment is on schedule: 71 new Securail officers had already been found by mid-March.

65 days lost

Last year, just over one in ten NMBS/SNCB trains arrived at the station more than six minutes late. Almost 41% of the delays can be attributed to acts committed by third parties, from suicides and accidents to cable theft, malicious behavior, or livestock or wildlife on the tracks. Most of these are primarily managed by Securail.

Unfortunately, NMBS/SNCB sees that malicious acts are on the rise. Last year, for example, passenger incidents led to the cancellation of 1 400 trains and 93 000 minutes of delay. That’s almost 65 cumulative days.

To prevent such aggressive behavior, discussions between passengers and non-board train attendants, and problems, Securail security officers have also started preventive ticket checks even before boarding since March. Of the 1 900 cases of aggression toward NMBS.SNCB staff reported last year, or an average of five per day, around half had to do with such discussions.

New recruitment

Consequently, NMBS/SNCB plans to recruit 150 new staff for its Securail security service this year. Recruitment is on schedule: 71 new Securail officers had already been found by mid-March.

Most of the new staff will work in Brussels, mainly in the operational teams responsible for security on trains and stations. A dozen agents will work in the Security Operations Center (SOC), responsible for security incidents on the tracks and for communication with other security, police, and emergency services. The reinforcement of teams in Flanders and Wallonia is mainly through internal transfers.

Securail security officers are authorized to carry out identity checks and draw up an official report on the context of infringements of the Railway Police Act. The service also manages more than 10 000 surveillance cameras in stations, trains, and elsewhere in the railway domain.