Two tracks at Brussels South railway station have been out of use since Monday after a piece of the Belgian Rail building fell on them. Railway operator NMBS has confirmed the news adding the problem should be sorted by tomorrow.
Last weekend, a chunk of the old NMBS building on Fonsny Avenue fell onto one of the tracks at the international rail hub. "It was a piece of the façade, and as a precaution we called in a specialised firm to secure the whole building front," explains spokesman Bart Crols.
“That could not be done without putting a second track out of service too."
All this has implications for train traffic: for example, one of the four IC trains to Antwerp has been cancelled, with a second one leaving from Brussels-North for Antwerp. But according to Crols, the problems should be sorted tomorrow.
Passenger organisation TreinTramBus says it’s “not good enough” that train connections between the country's two main cities is being reduced. According to TreinTramBus, passengers may have little or no knowledge of the changes, as the cancelled trains have disappeared from route plans and the app. "Regular travellers are not alerted to the fact that the service has changed. The new app no longer has a 'Disruptions' option and so passengers cannot see that some train journeys have been cancelled".
TrainTramBus has therefore asked the rail company to improve communication.