Survey shows majority of Belgians like their trains

According to a new European survey, Belgians are among the most satisfied with their trains in the European Union, with 74% of citizens giving the country’s rail system a thumbs-up. Belgium trails only Finland, Britain, Ireland and Luxembourg when it comes to having a positive outlook on its nation’s trains.

The survey of 26,000 Europeans questioned participants on areas such as overall satisfaction, and specific areas, including access to trains and train stations, the ease of cancelling tickets, to how complaints are handled. Belgium’s score stands out, as the average level of satisfaction across the EU is only 58%.

According to Belgians, one area in need of improvement is punctuality. Belgium fell below the average with only 7% very satisfied and 41% only moderately satisfied with their trains’ ability to arrive on time. This was an issue for Italy, Germany and Poland, who all expressed the most dissatisfaction.

The survey was part of a EU initiative, Shift2Rail, to get more Europeans onto rail transport by 2020.