Getting a 4/10 on your report card and still receiving a financial bonus of more than 400,000 euros? That is the outcome of the annual performance report by the Federal Public Service Mobility for the Belgian public railway company NMBS/SNCB.
In 2024, NMBS/SNCB achieved its targets for five of the 12 performance indicators, while scoring well below on two indicators, including passenger kilometers and rolling stock unavailability. However, since the bonus value was also achieved for three indicators, NMBS/SNCB is entitled to a bonus of €416,666.
‘Between progress and stagnation’
In its annual report, the Federal Public Service Mobility and Transport refers to a “mixed picture, between progress and stagnation” in relation to the evaluation of the railway company’s performance over the past year.
The report evaluates NMBS/SNCB based on 12 indicators. In seven cases, the railway company fell short of the contractually agreed-upon targets, and in two of those cases, it did not even meet the minimum value.
For example, NMBS/SNCB scores poorly in terms of passenger kilometers. In 2024, NMBS passengers traveled a total of 10,394 million passenger kilometers, less than in 2023 (10.441 million) and below the 2019 level (10.849 million). The percentage of trains that are not operational or unavailable, for example, due to maintenance, also falls below the contractually agreed minimum value: no less than 23.8% were not operational or available.
Punctuality is still a problem.
Although overall punctuality rose from 87.5% to 89.7%, the result is still below the progress value (90.2%°). The total number of canceled trains decreased from 0.52% to 0.59%, but the progress value is not sufficient to qualify for a bonus. To clarify: at NMBS/SNCB, an average of between 3,500 and 5,000 trains are canceled each month, while around 90,000 trains run on the Belgian railways every month.
Making stations accessible without assistance also fails to meet its targets; last year, 13 new stations were made accessible without assistance, bringing the total to 116, two fewer than the target set in the contract.
Customer satisfaction is 7 out of 10
According to the report, NMBS/SCNB is performing well in terms of passenger information during train disruptions, as well as in reducing the energy consumption of electric trains and CO2 emissions, which has resulted in a bonus. The number of bicycle and car parking spaces also evolved in line with the contractually agreed growth rates.
Another notable point is that the number of passengers rose slightly to 245.1 million in 2024. This suggests that we are taking the train, but travelling shorter distances on average, with a lasting teleworking effect, and more short trips being the obvious explanation.
Customer satisfaction remains positive overall, with an average score of 7.17 out of 10.
€417,000 euros of the €5 million available
Finally, five performance indicators with no financial impact met the quality thresholds. These relate to the cleaning of stations, the availability of vending machines, the refurbishment of access equipment, and the completion of planned routes.
The management contract between the government and NMBS/SNCB stipulates that the maximum annual bonus or penalty is 5 million euros for the 12 performance indicators with a financial impact, or 416,666 euros per indicator. With three indicators leading to a bonus and two to a penalty, NMBS/SNCB will receive a bonus of €416,666 for 2024. The company will invest these additional funds entirely in projects for well-being at work.
Infrabel under the bonus system for the first time
Additionally, railway operator Infrabel is evaluated on 15 performance indicators. For 2024, Infrabel has achieved its contractual targets for 10 indicators, reaching the bonus threshold for eight indicators, including customer satisfaction (for both passengers and freight), safety, and carbon footprint. This amounts to a sum of 1.6 million euros.
The areas for improvement remain overall punctuality, accessibility, and the modernization of the network, for example, with the implementation of the ETCS safety system. This is the first time that Infrabel has been eligible for a bonus mechanism.
