Since the end of last year, passengers with reduced mobility have been able to request assistance at 24 additional NMBS/SNCB-operated stations.
This brings the number of stations where this is possible to 174, or approximately one in three, as NMBS/SNCB manages around 555 train stations in Belgium.
The stations concerned are Aalter, Antwerp-Luchtbal, Arcaden, Barvaux, Bellem, Bierges-Walibi, Brussels-West, Coo, Diesdelle, Dilbeek, Drongen, Herent, Hillegem, Hoboken-Polder, Hoeilaart, Kortenberg, Lebbeke, Maria-Aalter, Melle, Mollem, Mortsel, Niel, Zaventem, and Zeebrugge-Strand.
Assistance is available for wheelchair users, but also for visually ally impaired people, older adults, and passengers who are temporarily less mobile, for example, due to a broken leg.
Assistance at even more stations is coming soon.
In 2025, assistance was requested 57,000 times, an average of 156 per day. This can be done up to 24 hours in advance, and for a direct journey between the 41 largest stations, up to 3 hours in advance.
Assistance can be requested by telephone, via the website, the NMBS/SNCB Assist App, or via Facebook and WhatsApp.
In 2024, NMBS/SNCB also made assistance available at 24 additional stations, and this year, NMBS wants to offer assistance at even more stations.
Policy makers and interest groups have regularly pointed out to the NMBS/SNCB that it still offers too slow and limited assistance and accessibility at many stations.
Autonomous access
In the long term, NMBS/SNCB wants everyone to be able to take the train independently, without assistance.
To this end, NMBS/SNCB is investing several billion euros in renovating stations and trains by 2032. From now on, every new train will be equipped with at least one autonomous access point. This will have the same boarding height as the new platforms and a step that slides out automatically to bridge the gap between the train and the platform.
In addition, the stations are also being adapted. Over the past five years, more than 50 stations have become accessible without requiring an autonomous access key. There are now 132, and by 2032, there should be 176.
