Train services across Belgium will continue to face disruptions on Thursday and Friday due to a railway strike organised by Belgian trade unions.
The five-day strike, set to end on Friday, 30 January at 22:00, was announced at the end of last year by rail unions in response to the Federal Government's reforms affecting public rail companies, including the national operator SNCB/NMBS.
The unions are denouncing, among other things, the end of permanent roles, changes to labour negotiations, working conditions, and pension reforms.
Cancelled Belgian trains
Ahead of each strike day, SNCB/NMBS has been publishing an adapted train schedule based on the number of employees who are not striking. This is accessible to passengers on the operator's website or app.
On Thursday, only two out of three IC trains between major Belgian cities are expected to be running, while only half of the local and suburban trains (L and S trains) will be operational.
On Friday, only three out of five IC trains will run, and only two out of five L and S trains will be operational.
Only a few peak-hour trains (P trains) will be running on Thursday and Friday morning and evening.
Changes to international trains
All OUIGO Brussels-Paris trains, and ICE Brussels-Cologne-Frankfurt are expected to run as planned on Thursday and Friday. Most Eurostar trains will also not be disrupted by the strike in Belgium on Thursday and Friday.
Similarly, most of the TGV INOUI trains due to depart or arrive at Brussels-Midi will run as scheduled, although some trains have been cancelled due to the strike.
Just like on previous strike days, EuroCity train passengers are likely to face disruptions on Thursday and Friday, with only 12 out of the 16 EuroCity trains between Brussels and Rotterdam scheduled to run.
Additionally, only half of the EuroCity Brussels-Amsterdam trains will depart from Brussels on Thursday and Friday, while nine out of the 16 EuroCity Brussels-Amsterdam trains are expected to depart from the Netherlands on the same days.
The EuroCity operator has further warned passengers travelling between Brussels and Amsterdam that most trains will have their final stop or depart from Rotterdam, instead of Amsterdam.
Meanwhile, the Brussels-Vienna Nightjet train scheduled for Friday evening will only depart from Cologne. The Nightjet passengers can use IC trains to travel between Brussels/Liège and Cologne.
More information on international train trips is available on the SNCB/NMBS international travel page.
