Belgium's national rail company (SNCB) will carry out ticket checks again, it announced on Friday.
The coronavirus crisis led the railway company in recent weeks to prioritise providing information and raising awareness regarding the protection rules to be applied on board public transport.
No physical contact will take place when checking the ticket. Paper tickets will be checked visually and digital tickets will be scanned. From now on, payments can only be made by Bancontact.
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"From 19 June, the verification that passengers are in possession of a transport ticket will resume on trains," the SNCB said.
The verification will be "accompanied by instructions for passengers, drawn up in collaboration with the field (train attendants and prevention advisers), which will enable these checks to be carried out in complete health safety for both passengers and staff," they added.
Wearing a face mask has been compulsory since 4 May in stations, on platforms and in trains, for both passengers and company staff.
The rail company is currently running at near-full capacity (3,600 trains per day). The number of passengers per day is currently between 300,000 and 310,000, which is around 30% of the normal number of passengers on a weekday outside the crisis period.
The company currently has 108 stations where ticket offices are open at the usual times. However, the counters are still closed in some 30 small stations.
The Brussels Times
