The sleet and snow that fell yesterday and overnight is still causing problems in many places. The Roads Agency has warned of slippery conditions, while some buses and trams have had to remain in the depot this morning due to adverse conditions. Rail company NMBS reported problems with information screens in the stations, their website and app. Little fresh snowfall is expected today as the snow zone leaves Belgium.
Sleet and snow and freezing temperatures mean slippery conditions on roads, pavements and cycle paths. 300 tons of road salt was slapped on the roads overnight.
VRT’s traffic unit says most motorways and major roads are in good condition and the rush hour is a relatively calm one. In Limburg, Brussels and Flemish Brabant watch out for frozen snow on minor roads and cycle paths.
Tram services in Antwerp are disrupted due to a rupture of an overhead cable. In Flemish Brabant strike action has affected services in Asse, Dilbeek and Leerbeek. On the border with Limburg services are hit by the snow. In Limburg itself the problems are concentrated on the south of our most easterly Flemish province.
At Brussels Airport all runways are operating. Planes are being de-iced and that can trigger small delays.
There are no reports of snow causing big disruption to train services. Delays and cancellations are possible. The rail company app and website as well as the information screens in the stations did all experience issues, but probably not due to the snow.
NMBS suffers cyber attack
Belgium’s state-owned rail company now says its website is up and running once again. The company claims that it was the target of a massive cyber attack last night. The attack triggered a decision to close down the website. Station information screens and the rail company app also experienced problems, but NMBS says these difficulties were not linked to the attack.
The DDOS attack was launched at 2AM. Such attacks mean that a website receives a large number of requests it can no longer cope with and collapses. The rail company then decided to close down the website as a precaution.
That decision meant passengers were unable to obtain journey information or purchase tickets via the website all morning. All services are now once again up and running. The cause of problems to the app and information screens is unclear. The rail company is filing a complaint with the judicial authorities and apologises to passengers.