In November, almost 20% of Belgian trains were not punctual. This is one of the worst results in the past seven years, according to figures from railway infrastructure manager Infrabel. Nevertheless, from February, all NMBS/SNCB products will be 5,9% more expensive, including the prices of tickets and subscriptions.

One in five trains (19,2%) of the NMBS/SNCB ran with a delay of at least six minutes in November. More than 6 200 trains were also canceled in the same month.

These are not figures to be proud of, but NMBS/SNCB attributes these poor punctuality figures mainly to the impact of “third parties” over which Infrabel and the railway company have no control, such as accidents, collisions with persons, track runners, and damage to the rolling stock or overhead wires. That category was responsible for 51% of the delays and 56% of the canceled trains.

Storm Ciara

November 2nd also saw storm Ciara, accounting for 45 000 minutes of train delays and 1 383 canceled trains, or a 2% drop in punctuality.

According to Infrabel, autumn is traditionally tricky, and autumn weather constantly pressures punctuality. Leaves from the trees end up on the tracks and are crushed by the trains. This can cause the wheels of the trains to slip, especially in wooded and hilly areas, which is a problem for punctuality.

To tackle that problem, Infrabel is also deploying special work trains to tackle the slipperiness on parts of the track. Infrabel clarifies that it is itself responsible for 14% of punctuality.

Higher fares

Despite those disappointing punctuality figures, NMBS/SNCB is raising fares by 5,9% from February. Only the prices of the City Pass in Antwerp, Ghent, Charleroi, and Liège and the bicycle supplement remain unchanged. The higher fares reflect high inflation. In 2023, fares also rose sharply, by around 9% on average.

“Not a nice message,” the NMBS/SNCB also knows that. “But rising inflation also means a cost for us. Not passing on that means less revenue, which cannot be used and invested. So we are forced to raise fares,” explains spokesperson Bart Crols.

However, the Train Passenger Advisory Committee had recommended postponing the indexation because the service deteriorated. “Passengers are getting a worse service than last year,” said committee chairman Dirk Lauwers.

For that matter, the increase is limited to inflation. Usually, NMBS/SNCB would be allowed to raise season ticket tariffs by an additional 1%, provided that several targets on performance rate, customer satisfaction, punctuality, and deletion rate of trains are met. However, those targets were not met.

Expansion of offering

On Sunday, NMBS/SNCB also launched the first phase of plans to expand its train offering substantially. The ambition is to increase the number of train passengers by 30% by 2032. Train kilometers traveled should increase by 7,4% in the first phase until December 2026. By the end of that period, there should be 2 000 extra trains every week.

The initial expansion is mainly felt in Wallonia, where Charleroi Airport will be made more accessible via the revamped Fleurus station. New features in Flanders include that the Noorderkempen station will get a second train per hour to and from Antwerp-Central all days on weekdays. Also, the S53 train between Ghent and Lokeren is running again; on weekdays, the route has been extended to Oudenaarde.

Staff shortages and social unrest

The staff shortages at NMBS/SNCB have not yet been resolved. For instance, some P-trains around Geraardsbergen, Ghent, and Oudenaarde are temporarily not running from December. The S32 between Puurs, Antwerp-Central, and Essen will also run less frequently than planned.

Finally, social peace has not yet returned to the workplace either. There were two 48-hour strikes in recent weeks. Among other things, the unions opposed management’s plans to halve the start-up time of train attendants to ten minutes.

According to Mobility Minister Georges Gilkinet (Ecolo), the railways are “paying the price for previous governments’ management choices and lack of investment in the rail network and rolling stock”.

“For three years, we have been working to catch up,” said the Minister. “The vision and plans are clear, the necessary resources have been allocated, and it will take some time to implement these changes, despite the daily difficulties, but this is certainly not the time to change strategy.”