Two in five IC trains will not run during 20th rail strike day this year
Two in five IC trains, three in five L and S trains and four in five P trains will not run during a new 24-hour rail strike. The strike starts at 22.00 on Monday and will be the 20th strike day this year on the Belgin railways, which makes 2025 the worst year of the past decade for railway strikes.
Initially, the strike was only supposed to involve the major unions ACOD Spoor and ACV-Transcom, but VSOA Spoor, OVS and ASTB later joined. The unions are protesting against the federal government's plans, especially around pensions and savings at the Belgian railway company SNCB/NMBS.
SNCB has worked out an alternative train service based on the working staff. At 86 stations, no trains will stop at all during the strike. International train traffic will also be affected. A number of ICE trains between Cologne and Brussels will not run, nor will a number of Eurostar trains between Brussels and Paris. Some trains to and from the Netherlands (EuroCity and EuroCity Direct) will also not run. Eurostar, in turn, expects normal traffic between Brussels and London.
Pension plans
2025 has already seen more rail strikes than any other year in the past decade. Tens of thousands of trains have already been cancelled this year, with the loss of revenue SNCB running into millions. Three more strike days are planned in April.
The plans of Pensions minister Jan Jambon are particularly angering the staff. Driving personnel in particular - about 3,000 train conductors and as many train drivers - risk not only having to work much longer, but also having less pension left over at the end.
Jambon says he will implement the coalition agreement, and thus the retirement age for railway workers will have to go up, but also that he is open to transitional measures.
Illustration © BELGA PHOTO ERIC LALMAND
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