Belgium’s three main rail unions have confirmed a nationwide strike that will bring widespread disruption from 22:00 on Sunday 25 January until the last trains on Friday 30 January. The walk-out targets the government’s draft rail-governance reform, which unions argue will dilute collective-bargaining rights and worsen working conditions at passenger operator SNCB/NMBS, infrastructure manager Infrabel and holding company HR Rail.
SNCB says it will publish reduced timetables 24 hours in advance on its website and app, but warns that service levels will depend on how many employees declare themselves unavailable. Experience from previous actions suggests that commuter routes around Brussels, Antwerp and Liège could see frequencies slashed to as little as one train per hour, while rural lines may have no service at all.
![Five-day national railway strike to hit Belgian and cross-border trains from 25 January]()
International traffic is also at risk. Eurostar, Thalys-TGV INOUÏ, ICE and EC/IC services that use Belgian tracks have been asked to prepare contingency plans, including possible train cancellations at short notice or diversions via the Netherlands or Luxembourg. Travellers connecting to flights may need to switch to buses or taxis, and companies should review duty-of-care procedures for time-critical journeys.
The strike will coincide with separate industrial action at Walloon bus operator LETEC, raising the prospect of multimodal disruption across the country. Retailers and manufacturers that rely on ‘just-in-time’ rail freight corridors through the Port of Antwerp are already diverting loads to trucks, but logistics associations warn that road capacity may be saturated if weather conditions deteriorate.
With negotiations deadlocked, mobility analysts say companies should brace for a prolonged period of labour unrest in Belgium’s transport sector as the government pushes ahead with structural reforms designed to bring rail finances in line with EU competition rules.
SNCB says it will publish reduced timetables 24 hours in advance on its website and app, but warns that service levels will depend on how many employees declare themselves unavailable. Experience from previous actions suggests that commuter routes around Brussels, Antwerp and Liège could see frequencies slashed to as little as one train per hour, while rural lines may have no service at all.
International traffic is also at risk. Eurostar, Thalys-TGV INOUÏ, ICE and EC/IC services that use Belgian tracks have been asked to prepare contingency plans, including possible train cancellations at short notice or diversions via the Netherlands or Luxembourg. Travellers connecting to flights may need to switch to buses or taxis, and companies should review duty-of-care procedures for time-critical journeys.
The strike will coincide with separate industrial action at Walloon bus operator LETEC, raising the prospect of multimodal disruption across the country. Retailers and manufacturers that rely on ‘just-in-time’ rail freight corridors through the Port of Antwerp are already diverting loads to trucks, but logistics associations warn that road capacity may be saturated if weather conditions deteriorate.
With negotiations deadlocked, mobility analysts say companies should brace for a prolonged period of labour unrest in Belgium’s transport sector as the government pushes ahead with structural reforms designed to bring rail finances in line with EU competition rules.
Source: The Brussels Times
