Although the Belgian railway company NMBS/SNCB has not yet fully announced the new schedule for all provinces, many areas will see the addition of extra early and late trains starting Sunday, December 13.
Across the entire country, the new 2026-2029 transportation plan – which will be rolled out in three phases from December 2026 through December 2028 – will add nearly 600 trains per week and improve service at 178 stations.
East and West Flanders
For example, an additional late-night S-train will depart Brussels shortly after midnight bound for East Flanders. That train, which arrives in Zottegem around 1 a.m., also stops in Liedekerke, Denderleeuw, Welle, Haaltert, Ede, Burst, Terhagen, Herzele, and Hillegem.
Aalst, Erembodegem, and Denderleeuw will also have a direct connection every half hour on weekdays to Etterbeek, near the VUB campus.
In West Flanders, there will be an earlier train on Sundays from De Panne to Ghent (at 5:52 a.m.), and a later train in the opposite direction in the evening (at 9:53 p.m.). On weekends, two trains per hour run in each direction between Bruges and Kortrijk. And on weekdays, three additional peak-hour trains will be added: during the morning rush hour from Blankenberge to Bruges, and during the evening rush hour from Bruges to Knokke and from Bruges to Zeebrugge.
Additional early and late trains for Wallonia also
Wallonia will also see additional early and late trains. For example, on Friday and Saturday evenings in Walloon Brabant, there will be extra late S8 trains, with the last departure from Brussels-Central to Louvain-la-Neuve at 11:52 p.m. and the last arrival at Brussels-Central at 12:08 a.m. There will also be additional trains on the Brussels-Ottignies line. In addition, the new Braine-Alliance station in Eigenbrakel will open.
In the province of Namur, a new P-train will run between Namur and Gembloux starting at 5:33 a.m. Trains between Dinant and Namur will run an hour longer in the evening, arriving in Namur at 11:08 p.m. Finally, in Luxembourg, a new weekday IC service will run between Arlon and Luxembourg, departing at 5:29 a.m., and more trains will run in the evening between Libramont and Bertrix.
There are even more changes than just early and late trains in Wallonia: on Saturdays, an IC train runs every half hour – instead of every hour – on the main Walloon line between Mons, La Louvière, Charleroi, Namur, Huy, and Liège.
Better accessibility of stations
The changes, which take effect on December 13 and are part of the first phase of the 2026-2029 transportation plan, will be available in the NMBS/SNCB trip planner starting September 28. Further adjustments are planned for late 2027 – including night trains from Bruges, Ghent, and Brussels to Brussels Airport – and late 2028. As a result, train service is expected to increase by 3% in 2029 compared to 2026.
“The expansions remain contingent on requests from other rail operators, the capacity secured from rail network operator Infrabel, the completion of infrastructure projects, and the delivery of new trains,” NMBS/SNCB adds.
In addition, NMBS/SNCB is continuing to invest in its stations to improve accessibility, comfort, and intermodal connectivity. As a result, Lokeren, Ninove, Oudenaarde, Sint-Niklaas, Zottegem, Bruges, Knokke, Ostend, and Waregem, among others, will get additional bicycle parking spaces.
