In July and August, 15 million occasional passengers chose to travel by train. These were passengers with single-trip tickets, not season passes. That was 9,3% more than during the same period last year.

The Belgian coast remained one of the most popular destinations: during the summer, 1,7 million tickets were sold to and from coastal stations, an 8,5% increase compared to last year.

Train+ is a hit

Attracting more leisure travelers has long been a priority for the Belgian railway company NMBS/SNCB. Last year, for example, it introduced a paid discount card (Train+) specifically to encourage occasional travelers to take the train more often.

“About 40% of ticket-based trips during the summer months were made using Train+, which confirms the growing popularity of the offer,” says NMBS/SNCB.

With Train+, adults never pay more than 14€ for a trip, regardless of the distance traveled. Young people, seniors, and those eligible for an increased subsidy never pay more than 5,5€.

Festivals and abroad

In addition to being a popular coastal destination, the train also played an important role for festivalgoers: more than 250,000 festivalgoers traveled by train. For them, NMBS/SNCB deployed 130 special trains, including 105 night trains.

International rail travel also had a strong summer, with an 8.8% increase in bookings. France remains the most popular international destination, followed by the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Germany, and the United Kingdom.

The most recent surveys show that more than 75% of travelers were satisfied with their train trips during the summer months. Among leisure travelers, that figure is 80%; among those who use the train for a vacation or a day trip, it is 90%.