Infrabel and Siemens sign €215 million contract for Belgian digital rail

September 25, 2026

The Belgian rail network operator Infrabel has signed a new contract with Siemens Mobility to maintain, further develop, and modernize the Operational Control System (OCS), a digital system that ensures trains run safely and smoothly across the Belgian railway network. The framework agreement, worth 215 million euros, will run for 11 years and is also […]

Dutch traffic fines set to rise again

September 25, 2026

Anyone who runs a red light in the Netherlands or fails to wear a seatbelt whilst driving will face higher fines from 1 January 2027. Despite criticism from the House of Representatives, the government is pressing ahead with the annual inflation adjustment, which means traffic fines in the Netherlands will rise next year. On average, […]

European first: Brussels Airport tests mobile blending facility for SAF

September 24, 2026

Brussels Airport is the first European airport to test a mobile blending facility to produce sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). The project is the final phase of the Stargate project, established with the support of the European Commission, through which the airport has explored more than 30 sustainability measures in recent years. “We remain committed to […]

The Brussels Metro celebrates its 50th anniversary

September 23, 2026

50 years ago – on September 20, 1976, to be exact – King Baudouin inaugurated the Brussels Metro. The network, which now comprises just under 40 km of track spread across 4 lines with some 60 stations, carries more than 150 million passengers a year, making it by far the most popular mode of transportation […]

ASWR launches new e-scooter safety campaign in Wallonia

September 23, 2026

Just as in Flanders and Brussels, the number of e-scooter accidents is also rising in Wallonia. And although drinking and riding don’t mix, according to the Walloon Road Safety Agency (AWSR), more than one in ten e-scooter users (12%) involved in an accident tested positive for alcohol. Precisely because of the significant increase in accidents […]

CAE to close training center, Brussels Airlines to train pilots abroad

September 22, 2026

The Canadian aviation training provider CAE will close its pilot training center at Brussels Airport at the end of this year. The company, which has been operating at a loss, confirmed this in discussions with the unions. Brussels Airlines, which had all its pilots trained at the center, has found alternatives abroad. Active in Brussels […]

One in five bike paths along Flemish regional roads is still a ‘death strip’

September 22, 2026

Just over a quarter of the bike paths on Flemish regional roads, or 2,623 km (26%) of a total network estimated at over 10,000 km, do not meet safety standards and are not sufficiently elevated or separated from the roadway. The province of Limburg has the highest proportion of dangerous road stretches (30%), Antwerp the […]

VIAS study: GAS fines for speeding are not a revenue model, but they do pose a risk

September 22, 2026

Many drivers in Belgium feel like they’re being “milked” when they receive a GAS fine for a minor speeding violation in the mail. Yet local governments primarily use these GAS fines to promote traffic safety, not as a revenue stream. This is evident from a comprehensive study by the Vias Traffic Institute and Ghent University, […]

Tackling contrails buys the Earth 10 years

September 22, 2026

As poetic as a contrail – or condensation trail – may be, the white trails left behind by high-altitude aircraft are not nearly as harmless as they appear. Although they come from only a small fraction of flights, they contribute to global warming at a level comparable to aviation’s CO2 emissions. A new report by […]

New NMBS/SNCB train schedule adds nearly 600 extra trains per week

September 21, 2026

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 […]

An internal report states that struggling KLM must make urgent strategic decisions

September 19, 2026

The Dutch airline KLM, which merged with Air France in May 2004 to form Air France-KLM, is currently facing difficult times. That’s why it prepared an internal report outlining what KLM’s situation might look like in 2030. And with options ranging from downsizing and transferring control to Air France-KLM to remaining independent through a single […]

One million monthly rides on Bolt e-scooter and e-bikes in Belgium

September 17, 2026

June, July, and August: For the third month in a row, Bolt has recorded more than 1 million rides on e-scooters and e-bikes in Belgium – a milestone for the company in its 5 years of operation in the country. That’s more than double the number from a year ago. Together, those monthly trips total […]

Ring Ring: Touring offers free bike safety checks for schools

September 17, 2026

Many children bike to school every day, but their bikes – blame it on the parents – aren’t always safe, ranging from missing reflectors and broken lights to worn-out brakes. To address this problem, the mobility organization and roadside assistance provider Touring is launching Ring Ring Bike Squad, a free package for schools to organize […]

Green hydrogen production starts at former Opel site in Antwerp

September 16, 2026

The U.S. company Power to Hydrogen will start production of green hydrogen this Friday in the Port of Antwerp. The site opens at the so-called NextGen District, the innovation hub of Port of Antwerp-Bruges on the premises of the former Opel factory. The goal is to produce 50 metric tons of green hydrogen annually. The […]

40% of Flemish drivers can’t keep up with new traffic rules

September 16, 2026

For those who feel like it’s been an eternity since they took their driver’s license exam, the Great Traffic Quiz is back again this year. Through October 14, anyone can visit www.degroteverkeersquiz.be to test their knowledge of traffic, mobility, and safety. A playful traffic quiz like this turns out to be sorely needed: according to […]

More passengers than ever take Belgium’s coastal tram

September 15, 2026

Last summer, 4,5 million passengers used the coastal tram on the Belgian coast, a slight increase of 0,4% compared to last year. August was a record month for the coastal tram, with 2,33 million passengers – 70,000 more than in July. The Flemish public transportation company De Lijn is pleased, but also surprised. 67-km route […]

Belgian and EU airport expansions undermine climate targets

September 15, 2026

Most of Europe’s biggest airports plan to expand to accommodate more passengers in the coming years. Transport & Environment (T&E), a European NGO focused on sustainable transportation, assessed the expansion plans and traffic forecasts of twenty of Europe’s largest airports in ten countries against a Paris Agreement-compliant 1,7°C carbon budget. And guess what? By 2050, […]

E-bike fires are rising, and battery quality may be to blame

September 14, 2026

There is an urgent need for research into the quality of bike batteries and the causes of the fires involving them. That is the view of fire prevention expert Tim Renders. According to Renders, the numbers of reported e-bike fires in Flanders and the Netherlands rose from 38 in 2021 to 102 in 2023 and […]

Liège tram to cost €1.3 billion after years of mismanagement

September 11, 2026

The total cost of the new tram line in Liège will amount to 1.3 billion euros. That is the conclusion reached by the Court of Auditors in a new report. While this is ‘only’ a good 139 million euros higher than when the PPP contract was signed in 2019, it represents a doubling compared to […]

Belgian commuting accidents involving soft mobility rise 9%

September 11, 2026

The number of accidents resulting in injuries while commuting to or from work using soft mobility increased by more than 9% last year. This is according to a study by the industry association Assuralia. Infrastructure is a contributing factor to this upward trend, which has been underway for several years, but the main explanation is […]

More aggression, more sick leave among De Lijn ticket inspectors

September 11, 2026

Last weekend, a serious incident of aggression occurred against a ticket inspector working for the Flemish public transportation company De Lijn at Antwerp-Berchem station. Unfortunately, this is not an isolated incident, as figures from the newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws show that De Lijn recorded 226 violent incidents against tickets inspectors last year. That is a […]

Brussels Minister Van den Brandt wants stricter rules for private e-scooters

September 10, 2026

In Brussels, the debate is once again in full swing over the ban on e-scooter-sharing services that the Brussels Region plans to introduce in 2027. It’s sometimes easy to lose sight of the fact that the various government bodies themselves have made quite a mess of things themselves, as the logic behind the regulations is […]

TotalEnergies makes new move to derail Belgian farmer climate lawsuit

September 10, 2026

Should the climate lawsuit filed by Belgian organic farmer Hugues Falys against TotalEnergies be moved again from Mons to Tournai? If it were up to the French oil giant, it would be, as TotalEnergies has filed a motion to that effect. In any case, it is a remarkable procedural move, and according to the NGOs […]

15 million passengers chose to travel by Belgian trains this summer

September 09, 2026

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 […]

ICE connects Antwerp, Leuven and Brussels Airport directly with Cologne

September 08, 2026

Antwerp, Leuven, and Brussels Airport are now connected to Germany – specifically Cologne – by high-speed train. This is the first-ever high-speed train service between Antwerp and Germany. Deutsche Bahn is operating its newest ICE neo trains on this route, which can accommodate over 400 passengers and reach speeds of up to 300 km/h. Thanks […]

Strike averted at Brussels Airlines over flights to Tel Aviv (update)

September 07, 2026

Brussels Airlines plans to resume operating one to two daily flights to Tel Aviv starting in September. Unlike in the past, the airline no longer wants to rely exclusively on volunteers for these flights and instead intends to require staff to work them through the standard scheduling process. According to the ACV Puls union, Brussels […]

Supersonic is back, the business case isn’t – yet

September 04, 2026

Travelers, aircraft manufacturers, aviation enthusiasts, and those nostalgic for the Concorde are dreaming aloud of a comeback for supersonic flight. Now that regulations in the U.S. are being amended to lift the absolute ban on supersonic flight over the country, nothing seems to stand in the way of a return of commercial flights at speeds […]

Record summer for aviation despite high prices

September 04, 2026

On July 23, Flightradar24 recorded 153,359 commercial flights worldwide within 24 hours – the busiest day ever recorded, well above the previous record set in 2023. That figure – 16,134 more flights than the old record – also sets the tone for the entire month of July, as global demand for air travel rose by […]

Wall of shipping containers to block noise from diesel train in Lokeren

September 03, 2026

NMBS/SNCB has found a solution to the legal dispute arising from noise pollution caused by stationary diesel trains at the Lokeren station. The Belgian railway company is erecting a temporary noise barrier made of shipping containers, nearly 250 meters long. The stacked containers, representing an investment of 300,000 euros, will be placed near the former […]

Heylen buys Audi Brussels site for major 3,000-job redevelopment

September 01, 2026

Heylen Warehouses, the real estate arm of the family-owned industrial holding company led by the Kempen-based entrepreneur Wim Heylen, has purchased the former Audi site in the Brussels municipality of Forrest/Vorst. Financial details of the transaction have not been disclosed. The site covers approximately 55 hectares and has been vacant for a year and a […]

De Lijn organizes 2,100 trips per day for special education students

August 31, 2026

At the start of the new school year in Flanders, things are traditionally busy at De Lijn because the public transportation company also operates buses for students in special education. In June, there was a lot of commotion because Flemish Minister of Mobility Annick De Ridder (N-VA) wanted to cut costs on those trips, but […]

Reminder: Belgium’s road rules change from September 1

August 31, 2026

Starting September 1, several new rules will take effect in Belgium, affecting traffic and mobility. For example, helmets will be required when riding an e-scooter capable of speeds exceeding 20 km/h. In Flanders, cars will only need to be inspected every two years after the initial inspection. Because an inspection certificate is valid throughout Belgium, […]

London police beat phone snatchers at their own game with Sur-Rons

August 28, 2026

It’s a bit like a British version of the heist movie The Italian Job, but with Sur-Ron e-bikes instead of Mini Coopers, because the London police have significantly expanded their fleet of Sur-Ron motorcycles to be able to chase criminals riding the same kind of bikes. The bikes, which are used by criminals in street […]

BYD brings Belgian chip specialist Melexis into its inner supply circle

August 27, 2026

Melexis, the Belgian designer and developer of chips primarily for automotive sensors, has signed a Master Purchase Agreement (MPA) with China’s largest electric car manufacturer BYD. This partnership agreement gives Melexis more direct access to China’s enormous market to sell its chips in mass production, while BYD gains faster access to Melexis’s specialized sensor and […]

AirBaltic will not be serving Liège Airport after all

August 26, 2026

The Latvian airline AirBaltic will not, after all, be launching flights from Liège Airport to the Canary Islands starting in late October. AirBaltic cites insufficient demand, combined with financial difficulties due to rising fuel costs, as the reason for the cancellation. This is a blow to Liège Airport, as the airport had not had a single […]

Brussels Airport tests autonomous e-tractor for cargo transport

August 25, 2026

Brussels Airport is testing a self-driving electric tractor in the cargo zone that transports cargo trailers between the warehouses and the tarmac. In the past, Brussels Airport and De Lijn have already tested a self-driving shuttle bus, and there is also an ongoing project involving a self-driving e-shuttle that transports airport staff. However, according to […]

Major clean-up effort at Brussels North Station yields 5.5 tons of trash

August 24, 2026

On Friday, regional and municipal sanitation services cleared 5.5 metric tons of trash from around Brussels’ North Station, a notorious hotspot for litter, illegal dumping, and street debris. This is equivalent to the amount of trash an average Belgian family would accumulate over about ten to twelve years. The amount of cleared trash immediately highlights […]

Transavia turns Brussels Airport into its fourth home base

August 21, 2026

The Dutch airline Transavia plans to establish a long-term presence at Brussels Airport. It has opened a new crew center there and stationed a fourth aircraft. From now on, it will also employ Belgian staff, and the plan is to expand further the base, which currently employs 150 people. “Brussels has become a full-fledged fourth […]

Minister disputes claims of understaffed De Lijn safety unit

August 21, 2026

The number of social safety experts at the Flemish public transportation company De Lijn has been cut in half since 2019, from six to three. According to the ACV union and several members of the Flemish Parliament, this number is sufficient to handle more than 2,000 cases of aggression annually, support victims, review surveillance footage, […]

Judge bans NMBS/SNCB from operating noisy diesel trains at Lokeren station

August 20, 2026

A judge has ruled in favor of a resident living near the Lokeren station in a complaint about noise pollution from diesel trains left idling while on standby there. As a result of the ruling, the Belgian railway company NMBS/SNCB must adjust its schedule for trains serving Lokeren, the Ghent region, and Ronse, and vice […]

Virgin Trains gets green light for 20 daily Channel Tunnel services

August 19, 2026

Legally speaking, the door had been open for some time for the British company Virgin Trains to become a competitor to the high-speed rail operator Eurostar. But with approval from the British rail regulator ORR for rail access on High Speed 1 (HS1) – or between St. Pancras and the entrance to the Channel Tunnel […]

Plug Power exit pushes Antwerp closer to hydrogen import-hub role

August 19, 2026

Another setback for hydrogen advocates in the Port of Antwerp-Bruges: The American company Plug Power is permanently scrapping its plans to build a hydrogen plant on the former Opel site in the Port of Antwerp. Last week it was reported that Fluxys is having difficulty finding customers for its hydrogen pipeline network. Due to this […]

Belgium’s 12,000-liter Seagle wants to become Europe’s new fire bomber

August 18, 2026

From the High Fens in the Belgian Ardennes to the island of Skyros in Greece: Europe is desperate for every drop of water to put an end to wildfires, but amphibious firefighting aircraft are, of course, also crucial for extinguishing large-scale forest fires. Unfortunately, Europe is currently facing a severe and critical shortage of these […]

Brussels Airlines chases the Northern Lights with new Arctic routes

August 17, 2026

Starting this winter, Brussels Airlines will operate scheduled flights to the Far North, specifically to Evenes in Norway and to Kemi and Kittilä in Finland. “Winter vacations in the Arctic are becoming increasingly popular,” the airline says. In addition to scheduled flights, Brussels will continue to partner with travel agencies for charter flights to the […]

Belgium builds hydrogen highway, but customers don’t bite

August 17, 2026

The new 48-kilometer hydrogen pipeline that Belgian gas network operator Fluxys is constructing between the industrial clusters of the ports of Antwerp (Kallo) and Ghent (Zelzate) is facing a difficult period. According to the business newspapers De Tijd and L’Echo, no binding contracts have yet been signed with any customers. The pipeline network is intended […]

Chinese C199 aims to break the Airbus/Boeing duopoly

August 13, 2026

A C919 aircraft from the Chinese state-owned company Comac made its first international flight yesterday between Beijing and Mongolia. The flight marks an important milestone for China: after all, the C919 is set to compete with the Airbus A320 and the Boeing 737 MAX, medium-sized aircraft that have dominated the market for decades. Yet this […]

Belgian-style surrealism: Carrefour bans EVs from rooftop parking lots

August 12, 2026

In late July, the Carrefour in Kraainem, Belgium, banned EVs from its rooftop parking lots due to weight concerns, i.e., could exceed the load-bearing capacity, and fire hazards. “The measure is not being implemented at every Carrefour store with a rooftop parking lot but is being evaluated on a case-by-case basis,” the company said at […]

NMBS/SNCB scores well again on train punctuality

August 11, 2026

Punctuality for domestic trains operated by the Belgian public railway company NMBS/SNCB has improved significantly. In July, these trains achieved a punctuality rate of 94.6%. This is the best result since July 2021. Rail network operator Infrabel and NMBS/SNCB have not explained this improved punctuality. Still, the main improvement lies primarily in system robustness – […]

One million flights, zero serious incidents in Belgian skies

August 11, 2026

Last year, the Belgian air traffic control provider Skeyes handled 1,035,084 flights, an average of about 2,740 per day. With this total of over 1 million, it has returned to 2019 levels – pre-pandemic – for the first time. Compared to 15 years ago, there are 20 times as many reports of safety-related incidents, but […]

Belgium blocks Chinese acquisition of helicopter operator NHV

August 10, 2026

The Belgian Interfederal Screening Committee, a body tasked with ensuring that major investments by foreign, non-European organizations do not lead to geopolitical surprises, has decided to block the acquisition of the Ostend-based helicopter operator Noordzee Helikopters Vlaanderen (NHV) by a Chinese investor. These concerns relate to “risks to national security, Belgium’s strategic interests, and possible […]

Summer track works to impact train traffic across Belgium

August 07, 2026

The Belgian railway operator Infrabel deliberately schedules the most extensive construction projects for the summer because there is less commuting to work or school during that time. With fewer commuters, fewer trains are needed, allowing Infrabel to close more tracks simultaneously without bringing the entire network to a standstill. Here is an overview of the construction […]

London clears Wayve and Uber for supervised robotaxi rides

August 06, 2026

Wayve, a British artificial intelligence start-up, specializing in autonomous driving and a partner of the Uber platform, has been granted Private Hire Vehicle licenses by Transport for London (TfL). This is an important step toward launching autonomous rides on the Uber platform in the British capital. The permits are for several Wayve’s autonomous, all-electric Ford […]

Brussels seeks Lime compromise to avoid shared-bike shutdown

August 06, 2026

Due to a recent ruling by the Council of State, all bike- and e-scooter-sharing operator in Brussels will lose their licenses on September 1. In response, Brussels Mobility announced that it is inviting all operators in the sector to a mid-August meeting. But it now appears that the Brussels government is aiming for a transition […]

Fuel shock forces Brussels Airlines to ground A330 growth plans

August 05, 2026

High fuel prices, an Ebola outbreak in East Africa, and strikes by third parties led Brussels Airlines to have a difficult start to 2026, with an adjusted operating loss of 70 million euros. This represents a 50% decline compared to the same period last year. In response, the airline has scrapped its fleet expansion plans. […]

Antwerp is a diesel hub, but Belgian drivers still pay soaring global price

August 05, 2026

Belgium may be home to Antwerp, one of Europe’s largest refining and diesel-trading hubs, but that does not give Belgian motorists access to cheaper fuel. Diesel produced in Antwerp is traded at international north-western European prices, which are determined by global supply, refinery availability, transport costs, and geopolitical tensions. That global market is now flashing […]

Shell pulls back from green energy, TotalEnergies picks up the pieces

August 04, 2026

The British multinational oil and gas company Shell is selling its European onshore renewable energy operations, such as wind and solar farms, to the French group TotalEnergies. The deal involves a portfolio of 4 gigawatts, of which 500 megawatts are currently operational. Under CEO Wael Sawan, Shell has taken a more critical look at renewable […]

New bike path construction site opens at Brussels Quatre-Bras

August 03, 2026

On the Chaussée de Malines/Mechelsesteenweg, between the Quatre-Bras/Vierarmen intersection and Avenue des Fougères/Varenslaan in Wezembeek-Oppem, work has begun on the construction of a new bike path. The bike path will connect the Quatre-Bras/Vierarmen intersection on the Ring with the E40. The route runs largely along the Brussels Ring Road between Tervuren and Zaventem. In this […]

Brussels’ shared mobility fairy tale ends in legal chaos

August 03, 2026

Brussels was once one of the first European cities where shared e-scooters took off in a big way. At its peak – much to the chagrin of those who envied it –there were more than 20,000 e-scooters available for anyone to grab throughout the city. But now the fun is over, and so is that […]

Growth and higher fares cushion Air France-KLM’s €800m fuel shock

July 31, 2026

Air France-KLM saw its net profit decline by 71% to 190 million euros in the second quarter. This is due to the sharp rise in kerosene prices caused by the war in the Middle East. On the other hand, the airline group managed to pass on the lion’s share of those higher kerosene costs to […]

Colruyt’s DATS 24 hands retail energy customers to EnergyVision

July 31, 2026

The rapidly growing Ghent-based energy company EnergyVision is taking over the supply of gas and electricity to households from DATS 24, a subsidiary of Virya Energy, the energy division of the Colruyt retail group. The acquisition covers approximately 33,000 connection points (EANs), corresponding to about 18,000 customers. The exact purchase price has not been disclosed. […]

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