Extra train added to de-ice rail lines this winter

Rail infrastructure company Infrabel is doubling its efforts to keep the railways free of leaves this autumn and ice as the temperatures drop. Wet leaves, snow and ice cause notoriously cause delays on the system during the autumn and winter months.

The company, which owns, maintains and upgrades the railway network used by the SNCB, launched a train dedicated to keeping the rails clear in 2016. Now it is adding another such train, which scatters a mix of de-icer granules and sand on the rails.

When the rails become slick with mushy leaves or ice, the train’s ability to grip the rails is compromised, leading trains to have to slow down. The de-icing trains will especially focus on the zones leading up to stations, where trains need to speed up and slow down quickly.

The de-icing trains appear to be working: The delay in the winter of 2017 was down by about 6,000 minutes – or 100 hours – on the winter of 2013.

Infrabel is also doing its bit to clean the leaves off the rails, which it carries out in the middle of the night. The most work there is needed in Namur and Luxembourg provinces.