SNCB plans further roll-out of silent compartments on trains

The railway company says the pilot project last year was a success. In the future, more trains will have such ‘quiet areas’.

Last year, Belgian railway company SNCB began a test phase for silent compartments on trains. The first ‘quiet zones’ were set up within trains connecting Brussels to Luxembourg and Eupen to Ostend and had to provide a place for passengers who wanted to rest or concentrate. Travellers there were urged not to talk loudly to each other. They were also asked not to talk on the phone, limit the volume of headphones or earphones and put mobile phones on silent. 

According to SNCB, the pilot project was a success. Seven in ten passengers were in favour of the idea of ‘quiet zones’ and three in ten said they would take the train more often if there were such zones, a passenger survey that was part of the pilot project showed. "These sticker-designated silent compartments were met with great success," reads the railway operator's activity report. "We are currently examining how this concept can be gradually rolled out across the entire SNCB network."

The same report also showed that travellers were less satisfied with SNCB's service last year than the year before. On average, passengers gave the railway company a score of 7.17 out of 10. In 2022, it was still 7.26 out of 10. This year’s scores are the result of a new way of calculating customer satisfaction, however, which makes comparison with previous years difficult.

^{© BELGA PHOTO NICOLAS MAETERLINCK}