In 2023, the SNCB was too often late, cancelled too many trains and accumulated too many minutes of delay. As a result, the State has imposed a penalty of €416,666 on the national railway company.
These results are compiled in a report drawn up as per the public service contract the SNCB signed with the State, which includes financial consequences: if the SNCB does better than agreed with the authorities, it can claim a bonus, but if it doesn't, it gets a penalty. In either case, the maximum is € 5,000,000.
The 2023 report card drawn up by the Federal Mobility and Transport Department reveals that the SNCB performed well in nine indicators in relation to the contract's stipulations.
Kudos for consumer satisfaction, demerit for delays
High marks were awarded for customer satisfaction, parking spaces around stations, CO2 footprint and connections.
In terms of two indicators, SNCB even did better than required in two indicators: passenger information in the event of disruption to rail traffic, and the energy consumption of electric towing vehicles.
On the other hand, the rail company did less well than agreed on three counts: train cancellations, punctuality - assessed at 87.5%, when it should have been 89.1% - and delays.
Improved punctuality so far in 2024
SNCB Spokesman Dimitri Temmerman confirmed the penalty, adding that the company is doing everything possible in 2024. This seems to be the case so far in the area of punctuality. At the end of September,the SNCB's score was 89.6%, up from 88.3 in September 2023. The public service contract sets a threshold of at least 89%.
In a press release, SNCB also emphasised that performance indicators that are not linked to a financial incentive, such as cleaning, the availability of automatic sales machines and planned train-km volumes, were in line with, and in some cases exceeded, the thresholds set in the contract.
