Belgian train operator SNCB (NMBS) wants to improve the sanitation facilities of its stations, was revealed in the Flemish press De Standaard, Het Nieuwsblad and Het Belang van Limburg on Monday.
The company wants to introduce a health policy this year that provides the same facilities in all stations. There should be at least one public toilet open in every station, even outside counter hours, which is not always the case today.
Minister for Mobility Francois Bellot (MR, Reformed Movement) submitted to the House an outline of the health improvement plan. Toilets in Belgium’s major train stations should now be under the management of a person who is present on the site. In medium-sized stations, installations could be (semi-) automated. To limit the costs for SNCB, there will be a fee for the use of the facilities.
One or two toilets should remain open at all hours. The lack of resources to control the lavatories also leads to inappropriate behaviour. The new strategy will seek to avoid that.
"We also want the toilets to be accessible to all," said SNCB spokesman Dimitri Temmerman. "Gender-neutral toilets will be installed, and baby equipment will be placed in both men’s and women’s toilets."
The project is still being developed, with a plan expected in the first half of 2020, after which implementation will begin.
The Brussels Times
