There were no trains running between Bruges and the seaside resort of Ostend in West Flanders this morning. Thieves cut cables along the railway line last night, bringing train services in both directions to a standstill. The railway infrastructure operator, Infrabel, is working flat out on the repairs and hopes to restore the service in the course of the morning.
Last night, Infrabel received a report of a technical fault on the stretch between Jabbeke (West Flanders) and Ostend. Staff went to the scene, accompanied by the police. It turned out to be a case of attempted cable theft. “In the end, nothing was stolen — the thieves had already left — but a great many cables were cut,” says Infrabel spokesperson Frédéric Petit.
While repair work is ongoing, replacement buses are running between Bruges and Ostend. It is not yet clear exactly when train services will resume as many flock to the coast to escape the sweltering conditions inland. “Repair work is in full swing but there is quite a lot of damage. I expect things to be back to normal in the course of the morning, but for now we’ll just have to wait and see,” Petit said earlier.
“Three-quarters of such cable theft incidents occur in Wallonia. They are less common in West Flanders, but when they do happen, they often have a major impact,” said Petit. On average, cable thefts cause 45 minutes of delays on the rail network every day. That comes on top of the costs of repair work and staff deployment.