Railway trespassing causes four hours of delays every day

Belgian railway infrastructure manager Infrabel is planning tougher action against trespassers on the tracks, saying they cause, on average, more than four hours of delays every day.

Infrabel recorded 583 reports of people trespassing on the tracks last year, with 55 of these incidents occurring on the Brussels North-South line.

“Walking on the tracks is literally playing with your life,” the infrastructure manager warned.

“In 2025, nine people lost their lives and three others were seriously injured due to their reckless behaviour”

There were 646 incidents of trespassing in 2024 and 632 in 2023, with a particularly high number of trespassers caught each year in Brussels. In 2024, Brussels trespassers accounted for a fifth of all reports.

Infrabel is now launching a pilot project at Brussels-North to “prevent people from entering the tracks from the platforms”.

The ends of several platforms are being sealed off with trip mats, which serve as a physical barrier.

Cameras with intrusion detection will also automatically send an alarm to the SNCB control room if people enter the tracks from the platforms.

This way, Infrabel hopes to be able to intervene more quickly and reduce the impact on train services.

The measures cost a total of €75,000 and had previously been implemented at Brussels-Chapelle station. There, the detection system has already halved the number of people trespassing on the tracks.

“We must anticipate this behaviour as much as possible, and that is what this system does,” Brussels minister-president Boris Dilliès said.

“It’s impossible to reach everyone in Brussels and 100% safety does not exist, but we do see that every effort is being made to limit the risks and take prevention seriously.”

Trespassing most commonly occurs during the evening rush hour and is often commuters trying to take a faster and shorter route to avoid missing a train. Anyone caught can be fined €300. Anyone caught a second time must pay €500.

As part of the project, Infrabel shared footage of a couple with a large suitcase crossing the tracks near Brussels-North.

This resulted in a 20-minute suspension of train services, causing 117 trains to be delayed and “due to a snowball effect, this incident led to more than 15 hours of accumulated delays”.

“We see that people walking on the tracks not only endanger their own safety, but also that of others,” said mobility minister Jean-Luc Crucke (Les Engagés).

“It’s incomprehensible behaviour. People think they are saving time, but they actually cause delays for other passengers. That’s why we must continue to focus on clear warnings and stricter penalties.”

In 2025, 19 reports of trespassers were recorded at Brussels-North, 18 at Brussels-Midi, and 15 at Brussels-Central.

Infrabel has previously taken measures against trespassers. For example, cameras were installed at the entrances to the tunnels of the North-South link “to prevent or at least discourage dangerous behaviour”.

Brussels public transit agency Stib also struggles with trespassers on tram and metro tracks. In 2025, metro services were halted for 67 hours due to people on the tracks.