As the sun is tipped to make a return over Belgium this Ascension weekend, national railway operator SNCB is putting on additional trains to the Belgian coast.
The long period of grey and cold weather will be making way for a sunnier, warmer climate in the coming days, on cue for the long weekend due to Ascension Day on Thursday. As is often the case when the temperatures rise on bank holidays, many people are expected to flock to the Belgian seaside.
In anticipation of the large crowds, SNCB has confirmed it will deploy 16 additional trains from the key stations in Ostend and Blankenberge on Thursday, Saturday and Sunday.
Eight of them will run in the morning and eight will ensure a smooth return to inland Belgium in the evening. People departing to the coast from Brussels can expect around three to four trains per hour in the mornings.
The company regularly increases services to the coast during the hottest weekends in the spring and summer to meet the expected rise in demand from passengers. By doing so, the rail operator wants to prevent trains from becoming overcrowded and surpassing their capacity, which has happened in the past. To other stations, the Sunday schedule applies on Ascension Day.
During extended weekends, the SNCB Weekend Ticket can be used, allowing passengers to save up to 50% on their return tickets within Belgium.
Train services on other days
Friday is a bridge day between the Ascension Day holiday and the weekend, meaning some companies and services in the country close. On this day, SNCB will run a slightly adjusted service where fewer peak-hour trains (P-trains). Because the Friday falls in the Wallonia-Brussels Federation's school holidays, fewer trains will run during rush hours, mainly in Wallonia.
Station ticket offices' opening hours will also operate the same as on a Sunday. "In larger stations, however, the ticket offices will remain open as normal," SNCB noted.
The train network manager, Infrabel, is also carrying out larger-scale works on the entire network this extended weekend, which will affect train traffic from 9 to 12 May.
An SNCB bus will replace all trains between Mons and La Louvière-South, Bertrix and Virton, Ciney and Marloie/Rochefort-Jemelle, Dinant and Houyet, Gent-Sint-Pieters and Deinze, Gent-Sint-Pieters and Oudenaarde, Verviers-Central and between Spa and Géronstère.
