Belgian public transport operator NMBS/SNCB invests between 30 and 40 million euros a year in a facelift for its smaller stations until 2032. This will include investments in accessibility and signaling and an expansion of bicycle and car parking facilities. NMBS/SNCB has 555 stations, including 20 large ones, 80 medium ones, and 455 smaller ones. […]

The Liège-Maastricht-Aachen ‘three-country train’ was inaugurated in Liège on Wednesday. The train connects Liège-Guillemins with Dutch Maastricht and German Aachen. The connection will be open to the public from June 30. The new direct train is the result of a collaboration between Belgian public railway company NMBS/SNCB, Dutch transport company Arriva, and Dutch public railway […]

Flemish public transport operator De Lijn’s flex transport, vans on demand, is not operating efficiently. That’s according to the business newspaper De Tijd, based on figures the newspaper requested from De Lijn. According to the newspaper, 56% of all kilometers traveled have only the driver on board. In other words, minibusses drive around without passengers […]

The SNCF will increase the supply of seats on the TGV or HST by 15% in France and 10% internationally over the next ten years. Thanks to an increase in Ouigo’s low-cost trains, the expansion of that offer is possible. The SNCF in France is under strong pressure because different companies will launch regional high-speed […]

The Walloon public transport company TEC transported more than 150 million passengers last year. As far as passenger numbers are concerned, they are back to the level before the COVID-19 health crisis. At the same time, TEC’s turnover increased by 22% compared to 2022, to 122 million euros. In doing so, it surpassed 2019 for […]

Customer satisfaction at Flemish public transport operator De Lijn is declining, even though it carried 17% more passengers last year. The ageing bus fleet and staff shortages continue to hamper De Lijn. The Brussels public transport company MIVB/STIB also carried more passengers last year (+11%), but a more attractive offer and better punctuality ensure higher […]

Belgian railway NMBS/SNCB is looking for a buyer for four office complexes at Brussels South, or Brussels-Midi station, representing 150,000 square meters, writes the business newspaper De Tijd. Usually, the consortium that may build the railway company’s new headquarters on the site of NMBS/SNCB’s buildings on Avenue Fonsny would take over the site. The sale […]

According to a stability study commissioned by the city council, the right-wing of the station building in Tienen is in danger of collapsing. The building has been languishing for several years, and the Belgian railways NMBS/SNCB wants to assign it on a long lease to a partner who must also be responsible for its renovation. […]

It has been known for a while that the UK government wants more control over rail transport, but if it depends on the opposition Labour Party, that will effectively come about when it returns to power. So write British media such as The Guardian and the BBC. If Labour is again in government, it wants […]

Last year, there were an average of 15 cases of aggression per day against staff of Belgian public transport companies, a 1,5% increase compared to 2022. To stop such aggression, De Lijn, MIVB/STIB, NMBS/SNCB, and TEC have launched a joint campaign. They are also calling for further support from the police and judiciary to tackle […]

There has been outrage in Wallonia, and particularly in the Liège region, over the holiday regime of Belgian public train operator NMBS/SNCB. Due to the switch to a holiday regime across the country, because it is Easter holiday in Flanders, there are fewer trains in Wallonia, especially during rush hours and in the busy region […]

Belgian public transport company NMBS/SNCB posted an operational result (EBITDA) of 142.2 euros last year. That is a lot more than in 2022 and more than forecasted in the business plan. At the same time, the railway company’s staff continues to struggle with aggression: last year, rail staff were victims of aggression 2,298 times or […]

With more than 60,000 boarding passengers, Brussels-North railway station was again the busiest station in Belgium on weekdays in 2023, a title it had to leave to Brussels-Midi/South a year before. Brussels-Central, Brussels-Midi, and Ghent-Sint-Pieters followed it. The first Walloon station is Ottignies, followed by Namur. Incidentally, in Wallonia, ticket machines of the public railway […]

The Flemish public transport company De Lijn wants to recruit 800 drivers and 100 technicians this year. To this end, it will organize 14 job days, four for drivers and ten for technicians. “During the job days, everyone can get a taste of a job at De Lijn, learn about the terms of employment and […]

French rail group Alstom will operate its own train service in the UK from May 2025 between Wales and London. An application has been submitted to the UK rail regulator Office of Rail and Road (ORR) to operate five daily trains in each direction. “We have been part of the UK rail fabric for two […]

Belgian public railway company NMBS/SNCB and infrastructure manager Infrabel spent 612 million euros on consultancy between 2020 and 2022. Based on internal documents from both companies, research media Apache and Médor have exposed this. Mobility Minister Georges Gilkinet (Ecolo) had previously said the cost for that period was 44,6 million euros, but the actual amount […]

The long-announced ‘three-country train’ Liège-Maastricht-Aachen will start running in the border region between Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany from June 9th. The Maastricht-Aachen section has been active since 2019. However, Belgium could not yet be served due to making the trains of carrier Arriva suitable for the different security systems used in the three countries. […]

Start-up Kevin Speed will run high-speed trains (HST) in France from 2028 under the brand ‘ilisto’. The new HST operator signed an agreement with SNCF Réseau, the French rail network operator, to get the necessary train paths for the planned train runs. Specifically, Kevin Speed wants tracks from Paris to the North (Lille), east (Strasbourg), […]

Dutch Railways NS will order ten more Intercity trains, New Generation, on top of the 99 already ordered earlier. The order involves an investment of over 150 million euros. Public transport in the Netherlands is still less popular than it was before the Covid-19 health crisis, yet increasing crowding is noticeable – 15.5% more people […]

NMBS/SNCB has presented the first of 130 autonomously accessible M7 double-decker carriages at train builder Alstom in Bruges. The Belgian railway company wants passengers with reduced mobility, including wheelchair users, to be able to travel independently by train from the purchase of their ticket to their destination. “Besides safe and comfortable transport, accessibility is also […]