Major disruption on the railways as strike hits start of working week

The 9-day rail strike started at 10pm on Friday night. The action was launched by 2 smaller, non-affiliated rail unions with members mainly among the drivers.

Belgium’s state-owned rail operator NMBS and railtrack company Infrabel are drawing up an alternative timetable for each day of the strike, based on the number of staff prepared to work on that day. Staff must communicate this information to the NMBS 72 hours in advance.

The rail company announced at the weekend what the timetable would look like. The rail company confirmed the details this morning:

2 out of 5 IC trains are expected to run. These are services that connect major cities directly and stop only at the most important stations.

In addition, 1 in 4 L-trains and suburban S-trains will run. L-trains run between major cities but stop at every station on the route. S-trains run at fixed times in and around major cities, stopping in most stations.

There will be virtually no P or commuter trains. These are the trains that normally only run during the morning and evening rush hours.

Limited supply has led to huge crowds in places. Passengers report that it was very difficult to get on certain trains in Gent-Sint-Pieters this morning, as they appeared to be overcrowded.

And the next few days?

Tomorrow too, train traffic will be severely disrupted by the strike action. 2 out of 5 IC trains and 1 out of 3 L and suburban S trains will run.

According to the NMBS, the impact of the strike will vary from day to day. It was already clear that the impact would be greater on weekdays than on weekends. Passengers are advised regularly to check the journey planner on the NMBS website or app.

The journey planner is updated one day in advance. Now already you can see the alternative train service for tomorrow. From tomorrow morning, you can also consult the alternative train service for Wednesday.

Why are the unions taking action?

The action is launched by two, smaller non-affiliated unions OVS and ASTB.

They are protesting against the federal government's pension plans, increased productivity measures and flexibility required of staff, the ongoing cuts to the railways, plans to dissolve their legal employer HR-Rail and because of fears that NMBS will be split up.

The main unions socialist ACOD-Spoor and Christian ACV-Transcom are not taking part, but will carry out rotating actions from March, with different dates each month until July. The liberal trade union VSOA-Spoor wants to give social talks every opportunity first.