Train operator collects over €5m in fines

Train operator SNCB collected €5.18 million in fines last year, reports Het Laatste Nieuws today. The figure has almost doubled in a year, primarily because of the intervention of a bailiff agency. “Previously, many people would laugh in our faces and refuse to pay their fines, but nowadays almost all of them pay. They are afraid of being taken to court,” said SNCB spokesman Bart Crols. In total, 517,467 offences were recorded last year on the Belgian railway network – an increase of 6.4% on the previous year.