Belgian railway company SNCB suffered operating losses of €401.9 million in 2021, largely due to a massive drop in passenger numbers, it announced on Friday.
A €303.8 million boost from the Federal Government reduced losses to €98.1 million, but SNCB is hopeful that a return to pre-pandemic levels will alleviate its financial woes.
The number of passengers in 2021 was 171.8 million, 6.6% less than in 2020 and 32.2% less than in 2019, before Covid-19 brought travel to a near standstill.
Optimistic about the future
SNCB remains optimistic about its future, as passenger levels slowly return to more normal levels with the lifting of various coronavirus related restrictions.
“We are ready to welcome more passengers. The train plays a key role in daily commuting, school and leisure trips, and can make a particular contribution to achieving the Belgian climate objectives,” said Sophie Dutordoir, CEO of SNCB.
“Every person who chooses the train rather than a car makes an immediate contribution to reducing CO2 emissions. Our ambition is to have more passengers on our trains as soon as possible than before the crisis. Important steps have been taken in 2021 with a further expansion of our offer and the use of new comfortable trains.”
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SNCB hopes to win back customers with substantial and targeted investments in new rolling stock, developing stations into fully accessible multimodal hubs, the expansion and adaptation of the transport they offer and the intensive digitalisation of real-time information and sales channels.
In addition to its regular commuters, the Belgian railway company wants to attract 40% more leisure travellers and 25% more commuters by 2032.
