NMBS/SNCB has presented the first of 130 autonomously accessible M7 double-decker carriages at train builder Alstom in Bruges. The Belgian railway company wants passengers with reduced mobility, including wheelchair users, to be able to travel independently by train from the purchase of their ticket to their destination.

“Besides safe and comfortable transport, accessibility is also an integral part of our policy,” said Sophie Dutordoir, CEO of the railway company. Alstom has committed to delivering the carriages in the second half of this year and by the end of 2026. From then on, every M7 train will have at least one of these carriages.

Expertise of stakeholders

The new carriages have a door with a boarding height of 76 centimeters, the standard height of the latest platforms. Before the door opens, a step slides out onto the platform. Adjustments were also made inside with sufficiently wide corridors and doorways, extra handholds, lower push buttons, and adapted sanitary facilities.

To develop these carriages, the expertise of interest groups such as the High Council for Persons with Disabilities, CAWaB, and Unit was called upon. After all, when the M7 carriages were first ordered in 2015, accessibility was not sufficiently considered, according to the NMBS/SNCB.

“That was a missed opportunity,” says Dutordoir. The NMBS/SNCB, therefore, decided in 2018 to make autonomous accessibility a priority, consult interest groups, and let them give concrete recommendations based on, for example, a model of the carriage design.

Station accessibility will also be addressed.

Stations are also being dealt with to improve accessibility. Currently, Belgian station platforms have three different heights, meaning existing trains never reach the same height as the platform. The management contract between NMBS/SNCB and the Belgian government includes a plan to have 180 autonomously accessible stations by 2032, at 550 stations and stops. For the moment, 103 stations are fully accessible.

NMBS/SNCB is, therefore, continuing to work with the reservation system for wheelchair users. That system, where travelers receive assistance when boarding and disembarking, will be further expanded. In the major stations, this can be done up to three hours before departure. In the others, it must be requested 24 hours in advance. In the future, NMBS/SNCB plans to reduce the reservation time in major stations to one hour in advance.

New app functionality

According to the newspaper Het Nieuwsblad, NMBS/SNCB will also add new functionality to their app this year. There, travelers will be able to see what the train’s composition will look like. This would allow them to check whether their train contains an autonomously accessible carriage.

From 2026 onwards, there will also be new accessible ticket machines with an assistance button, allowing travelers to contact an NMBS/SNCB employee who can take over the operation of the machine remotely immediately.

The interest groups react somewhat cautiously positively to the news but also feel that things are not moving fast enough. To the fact that by 2032, there will be 180 autonomously accessible stations out of 550, NMBS/SNCB responds that this will serve as many as 70% of travelers.

€400 million budget

“This is a strong positive signal: we want everyone on board,” says Mobility Minister Georges Gilkinet (Ecolo). “Everyone should be free to choose their means of transport, and even more so to choose the safest and most environmentally friendly means of transport. For the first time, there is a clear vision for accessible trains, which is clearly stated in the 10-year management contract.”

The new trains are needed so NMBS/SNCB can replace older trains. However, Alstom is facing a 2.5-year delay in delivering the new M7 double-deck trains, 750 carriages in total. “That means that NMBS/SNCB has to use these older trains, which are more sensitive to breakdowns, for longer than planned. And that is pernicious for the punctuality of the trains,” Dutordoir said, alluding to the railway company’s poor punctuality figures.

At stake is an investment of over 3 billion euros, some 400 million of which is for the 130 autonomous carriages.

Once all carriages are delivered, each new NMBS/SNCB train will have at least one autonomously accessible carriage. From now on, NMBS/SNCB will also include the equipment as a standard on every new type of train it purchases in the future.