Belgian strike set to disrupt rail services this week

Unions representing rail staff will begin a 48-hour strike this evening at 22.00, following the breakdown of talks with federal mobility minister Jacqueline Galant. The strike is officially supported only by French-speaking unions, but the effects are expected to be felt nationwide.

The unions had given federal transport minister Jacqueline Galant until Sunday to come up with a solution to a dispute around the statutory employment of national railway company SNCB workers, which the unions are arguing to keep.

The action had been announced in December and was confirmed on Monday, after guarantees on working conditions were not given. Rail authority NMBS has warned commuters to seek other means of travelling to work tomorrow and Thursday. The strike will be over at 22.00 on Thursday.

The action is not supported by the Flemish unions, which said they preferred to continue negotiations on their demands for changes to the SNCB’s planned productivity measures. Flemish unions do expect some of their members to take part in the strike but could not say how many and how it would affect services.

Thalys trains to Paris will also be cancelled, and the TGV from Marseilles will terminate in Lille. Eurostar trains will be limited to Lille, and the ICE from Frankfurt will terminate in Liège. On Friday, the ICE will depart from Liège instead of Brussels South station.

Trains that travel through Brussels from Wallonia to Flanders will be affected. The crucial North-South connection through Brussels, involving hundreds of trains a day, is expected to be also be affected.

Disruption in Flanders should be limited, the SNCB said, with trains travelling from one Flemish destination to another, without travelling through Brussels or Wallonia, expected to be running. Some delays are possible. “The SNCB will do everything in its power to give passengers the most detailed traffic information possible in real time,” a spokesperson said.