SNCB to add 2,000 more stops to its international service

Rail service SNCB plans to add 2,000 new destinations to its already 3,600 options for traveling abroad. SNCB has made the announcement in conjunction with a campaign to remind summer travellers that they can reach destinations across 12 European countries via its ticketing services.

SNCB partners with international rail services around Europe, including high-speed services such as Thalys and Eurostar, to allow travellers to transfer to other trains outside of Belgium’s borders. It is often cheaper to book through SNCB than through the other rail services.

One of the best-known routes sticking to local services is the Brussels-Amsterdam connection, but there are hundreds more, including in Spain, Austria and Denmark. The Hello Europe campaign, however, highlights destinations that can be reached in less than six hours from Brussels.

This includes obvious cities like Paris, Frankfurt or Geneva, but there are 800 options in total. Holidaymakers who have never been to Linz am Rhein, say, or to Avignon can book round-trip tickets through SNCB.

“For the 800 destinations less than six hours away, the train is not only a sustainable form of transport but also a comfortable alternative to short-haul flights,” says SNCB in a statement. “When you take an international train, you don’t lose a lot of time by having to show up hours early, and there’s no long queue to check in.”

As for the 2,000 more destinations, they will be added over the next two years. There are no details on which cities they will take in, but they will be in the UK, France, Italy, Austria and Spain.

Photo courtesy Stadt Linz am Rhein