With temperatures climbing as high as 38°C on Friday, the extreme heat is taking its toll in Belgium. Extra precautions are now being taken, such as closing one of the main tourist attractions and cancelling trains across the country.
From Wednesday, maximum temperatures in most places will reach or even exceed 35°C, peaking at 38°C on Friday. An orange heat alert is in force for virtually the whole country.
As a result, the Atomium will be closed to the public from 14:00 on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, the monument's management announced, Belga News Agency and Bruzz reported.
The Brussels monument, which usually does not close its doors until 18:00, will only be open in the morning from 10:00 to 14:00. The last visitors are allowed in at 13:30.
The Atomium indicates that tickets purchased online for the afternoons will remain valid until the end of 2026.
Other monuments have also been hit by closures due to the heat wave. In France, the Eiffel Tower exceptionally closed its doors at 16:00 on Tuesday.
Transport disruptions
National railway operator SNCB/NMBS is also slashing 100 trains daily from Wednesday to Friday to ensure the well-being and safety of both passengers and staff.
Despite the recent modernisation of the Belgian fleet, there are still many old trains without air conditioning. Those devices are also extra sensitive to interference at high temperatures.
In addition, 25 P trains will be cancelled, in addition to the 15 P trains that were not already running on Monday and Tuesday. Two S-train connections between Geraardsbergen and Mechelen will also be reduced to one train per hour (between Halle and Vilvoorde via Brussels). SNCB emphasises that alternatives will be available to passengers.
Those travelling over the next few days can check their trip in advance in the travel planner via the app or the website. The planner takes into account the adjusted timetable and shows the number of carriages and the expected crowds for each train.
In addition, the SNCB reiterates the advice to avoid the rush hour as much as possible and that water bottles can be refilled at water fountains in around 100 stations.
The train information board in Leuven railway station. Credit: Belga / Elias Rom
Infrabel also decided on Tuesday to limit the speed on the high-speed connection between Brussels and the French border to prevent incidents that could be caused by a loose overhead line in the intense heat.
Trains will run at 170 km/h instead of 300 km/h from Thursday to Saturday between 13:00 and 19:00. The travel time on the Belgian part of the Brussels-Paris line will therefore increase by 12 minutes. The restriction only applies to the Belgian line HSL 1 – the Brussels-Lille/Paris high-speed line.
Several TEC bus lines between Brussels and Walloon Brabant will also not be served by the measure, LeTec reported, as few have air conditioning.
