An unfortunate record was reached by the Belgian railway NMBS last year: A record number of train journeys were cancelled. Trains running on time was also at the lowest point in five years.
For regular rail users, it might not come as much of a surprise: One in seven trains in Belgium was either cancelled or late last year. The number of cancelled journeys was 46,086, an all-time record. Punctuality, meanwhile, reached the lowest point in five years, with 12.5% of trains running late. “That is not at all good and has to improve,” said Frédéric Petit of Infrabel.
Rail infrastructure management company Infrabel considers a train late if it leaves six minutes or later than the scheduled time. In 2022, 10.8% of trains were late, and in 2021 the figure was 7.4%. While nearly 60% of late trains are to blame directly on either Infrabel or NMBS, a full 39% are caused by passengers – personal attacks on train personnel are not uncommon – or others who are, for instance, walking along the tracks or stealing cables.
November was not only the worst month in 2023, it was the worst ever month on record, with one in five trains running late. According to Infrabel, the number of suicides and other third-party incidents were high, and storm Ciaran wreaked havoc with schedules. By December this had gotten better with 12.6% of trains running late.
“Passengers have the right to better service,” said Infrabel in a statement. “The priority of both Infrabel and NMBS for 2024 is to get the trains on schedule.”