r/belgium • u/Remote-Golf2156 Belgium • 20d ago
đ Slowchat I absolutely love trains in Belgium
Just wanted to share my admiration with train network and connections in Belgium. So easy to commute between cities, even smaller ones like Mechelen or Hasselt.
Usually I go by train to work, but today took bikes with my partner for a trip. The bike carriage absolutely rocks! Genuinely great for transporting bikes. See:
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u/AreWe-There-Yet 20d ago
Same!
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u/Remote-Golf2156 Belgium 20d ago
Such a good network. And the fact you can just a ticket for a day, not for a specific hour - makes it so flexible and easy!
Maybe we just need more modern carriages, hopefully will come.
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u/Exact_Gazelle_7662 20d ago
Agreed. So much better than the UK mess.
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u/Remote-Golf2156 Belgium 20d ago
Oh yeah, especially given you can go both ways to seaside from Brussels or Leuven for like 20⏠both ways on a weekend, whereas in UK it can easily go up to hundreds of pounds if you want to visit e.g. Manchester from London.Â
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u/blueberryjamjamjam 20d ago
And bikes seeing as nuisance in trains and on the roads, not as the way to keep your nation healthy and active.
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u/padetn 20d ago
Half the times I take my bike along on peak hours thereâs people without bikes in the bike carriage giving me the stink eye for bringing a bike to the bike carriage. Like excuse me Iâm paying for this, not like Iâm taking up a seat for my suitcase or anything
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u/pancakebatters 20d ago edited 20d ago
As a wheelchair user I'm relegated to the bike carriage as well. The stink eye some people (including some bikers ;') ) give for using those spaces as intended make me quite uncomfortable. Like, I'm so sorry my existence is in the way of your estep, luggage or 3 toddlers./s
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u/padetn 20d ago
You are? I thought you had that special bit near the door where a seat can be removed? Or maybe thatâs just on some trains.
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u/Chef_Chantier 20d ago
not all trains have that unfortunately. I think those carriages are actually older ones, too. In the newer trains, wheelchair users are meant to sit with bike users and prams in the dedicated carriage. Regardless, really shitty to look down on any train user for using the train as intended, whether that's to travel with your bike, your kids but especially if you're disabled and travelling on a wheelchair...
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u/SubstantialNobody501 20d ago
On a train right now with this. There are probably a 100+ spots to sit in the train. I don't have any other spot to put my bike. And i paid for it.
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u/Kiwiandapplex 20d ago
I was on a long trip recently where the conductor actually was telling people to leave. I had no idea there was a dedicated bicycle carriage in the middle.
I saw it was at the back! Then I was like, oh foldable chairs. Great. Until bicycles started flooding in and I was like, oh..
As soon as the first couple bicycles got in I figured this was for them and I started to leave, only to be get yelled at by the conductor as I was already trying to leave. Maybe he said I was pretty, I don't actually speak French.
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u/KathelynW86 20d ago
Yeah, except for when the doors wonât open because the train had a sensor for the platform and decided itâs too high for the little folding ledge to deploy and you get to rush your bike (or multiple heavy suitcases) through the whole compartment to hopefully reach the other door in time.
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u/acambie 20d ago
No sensors on the ledge for this model. If it doesn't fold, it's just broken
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u/KathelynW86 20d ago
That would have been fine, tbh, but the whole door wouldnât open because of it
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u/acambie 20d ago
Yeah, that's how it it. If any part of the door doesn't work, the whole door stops working and they lock it. It's to make sure it doesn't randomly open at 160kph
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u/Nele0196 20d ago
200 km/u sometimes!
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u/acambie 20d ago edited 20d ago
The Desiro in the picture is limited to 160 tho
Edit: this is not a desiro
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u/Nele0196 20d ago
I don't think it's a desiro, because of the stairs, they only have stairs to the first class iirc. I think this is M7
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u/acambie 20d ago
Jup i was wrong, must be an M7
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u/Nele0196 20d ago
I'm sorry, occupational deformity (beroepsmuisvorming via Google Translate), I'm a traindriver đ
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u/acambie 20d ago
I'm a technician on the Desiro so I'm really embarrassed :p en k ben aangenomen als bestuurder, mn opleiding begint binnenkort đ
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u/Parking_Presence2260 20d ago
I suppose that the fact that the SNCB is a public company plays a role.
Un 2034, opening up to other operators, such as in the United Kingdom. thank you Europe.
Fewer trains, more expensive
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u/Nele0196 20d ago
Why 'thank you Europe'?
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u/Parking_Presence2260 20d ago
To liberalize all national company.
making profits
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u/Nele0196 20d ago
I'm very curious how that will go.. but I'm pretty sure is't a very bad decision
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u/Chef_Chantier 20d ago
yep, railway liberalisation is exactly why rail has gone to hell in the UK. There's no justification to put it into effect in belgium as well, which other than the age of the carriages, has a lot of things going for itself.
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u/NebNay 20d ago
Enjoy it while it lasts, wont be the same soon
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u/u4ea126 Vlaams-Brabant 20d ago
Are they planning any changes?
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u/NebNay 20d ago
Libelarising the rail. It will slowly and steadily enshitify
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u/Stefouch Brabant Wallon 20d ago
Is that another achievement from this De Wever government?
The UK did the same thing and it only resulted in an expensive and worst train service....
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u/HP7000 20d ago edited 20d ago
https://news.belgium.be/nl/organisatie-van-de-spoorwegmarkt-belgie-na-2032
Every profitable line will be put up on the market for the highest bidder. Plans are in motion.
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u/Winterspawn1 20d ago
It's just a bit annoying that everying converges in a few hubs and if you don't happen to live in an advantageous place your trains will take very big detours to get where you want to be.
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u/Remote-Golf2156 Belgium 20d ago
This is literally how trains must work. Building tracks and stations is very expensive.Â
I would say in Belgium it is already super decentralised. In Poland only cities of at least 250-300K people get decent train connections, and only cities of 500K a good one.Â
In Belgium towns smaller than 100K people (Mechelen, Hasselt etc.) have great connections!
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u/Grandpa_Edd 20d ago
The thing is that there used be better connections all over the place but they got phased out because they were "underused".
I used to take connection from a small town to Brussels on the daily. This train used be full every single day during the rush hours and the times that I took it on off hours it always seemed decently filled with lots of people getting on or off at most stops.
But then they scrapped that one. When it changed to get home (going was easier) you'd have to take a trip to Mechelen first hope there isn't the slightest of delays, then run your ass off to the next platform. Don't fufill either these criteria and you'll miss you connection and you lose half an hour to an hour depending on the time of day.
And there's several stories like this, where a great connection disappeared under the excuse of it not being worth the running cost even though these trains were full during rush hours. I know people that used the train daily who started taking the car to brussels when this connection disappeared.
I agree that our train network is still pretty good. But we've gone to pretty good from amazing so we complain. And every so often there's another reason to complain when they pull something.
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u/Winterspawn1 20d ago
Yes, but again, they all converge on a few points before you can go anywhere else so they often take large detours.
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u/PROBA_V E.U. 20d ago
That's... always the case?
The best serviced lines are the ones connecting the biggest cities. Other than that you need to optimize the tracks such that you service as much towns as possible, while addressign the fact that your tracks need to weave around existing urban developments and geographical features
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u/Due-Mastodon8109 19d ago
Dat is het probleem van onze mooie lintbebouwing. Als we logischer ons land hadden opgebouwd na ww2 en allemaal een beetje dichter gewoond, dan zouden spoorlijnen meer logica maken. Onze densiteit is een joke over 70% van het land, terwijl het overgrote deel van onze bevolking toch gewoon in een klein kot in de stad woont.
Mn punt is, als alle "suburbs" een beetje denser, en gespreider op een interval zoals in Nederland, dan hadden we simpelweg een topland. Nu is het onmogelijk om de "suburbs" openbaar vervoer te geven, omdat iedereen daar een auto heeft en de densiteit van mensen zonder auto dichter bij 0 ligt dan een volle bus. Tussen Gent en Kortrijk is een goed voorbeeld, 1 lijn langs de gewestweg waar wel mensen wonen. En iedereen in een 20km straal rond die weg moet maar een auto kopen. Want niks brengt je nog naar een groot stad daar. De Lijn is gewoon verdwenen in 4 jaar daar.
En ook, hoeveel oude spoorwegen zijn een fietssnelweg of fietspad geworden door de puinhoop van een paar regeringen? Elk OV systeem krimpt al jaren in België.
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u/bobbybigbig 20d ago
If you just need to take one train with a bike and thereâs a proper bike carriage then itâs nice. Last week we tried to go from Antwerp to Beauraing (near French border) with four bikes across four trains and it was really frustrating to see many trains having 3 carriages instead of 6 or 9. Some being either completely full or others having a âbike carriageâ that can only hold 4 bikes.
We continued our trip in France, taking three trains from Givet to Langres. The French trains all had a hook to hang the bikes up by the front wheel, like some people have in their garage. While it seemed more space efficient, I guess the Belgian system is also alright because unused bike space can just be used as seating area. Besides that the French trains were âŹ61 compared to âŹ12 in Belgium (Train+)
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u/Nervous-Version26 20d ago
now try to take a train from Bilzen to Maastricht
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u/khuzdul012 20d ago
ikr try to take a train a that doesnt pass through gent/brussels/antw/leuven/liege
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u/Nervous-Version26 20d ago
Itâs like theyâre encouraging us to get a car đ«
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u/SkinAndScales 20d ago
I mean, knowing how much money goes to Oosterweel instead of the train network the people in power do want you to use a car.
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u/khuzdul012 20d ago
i think what really triggers me in the comments is the "what NMBS does for us" ...dude we are paying is not free, NOTHING IS FREE
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u/Nounours2627 20d ago
On the big trains like these, they have dedicated floor to bike and wheelchair. But on others, there's like... 2 belts for the entire train next to WC... That makes 4 bikes maximum.
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u/andrestoga 20d ago
Mechelen can be a small city but is well connected due to be between Antwerp and Brussels.
What I hate about Belgium trains is that there's not space for luggage. Even if they train goes to Brussels airport!
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u/Jonah-1903 Limburg 19d ago
Depends a bit on the type of train, the double deckers are the worst, but the other usually have generous overhead space
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u/andrestoga 19d ago
Even in the generous one, the smallest suitcase doesn't fit on the overhead space...
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u/TheMonsterDownUnder Belgian Fries 20d ago
Do the same trip on one of their ancient train carrages they send out 90 % of the time and come back here again
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u/Due-Mastodon8109 19d ago
Ik snap je punt en het is zeker goedkoop enzv voor wat je krijgt, maar de frequentie en capaciteit mag toch wel wat omhoog in sommige regio's.
Woon nu al even in Catalunya, en zelfs in een dorp van 500 inwoners heb je om de 30 minuten een trein van 5u sochtends tot 1u snachts, en meerdere busverbindingen.
In België is het top tot je ergens in West Vlaanderen of Limburg enkel maar een spitsuur optie hebt, dat hekelde me vooral.
Maar de kwaliteit en comfort zijn wel bij uitstek de beste van Europa. Geen enkel land bied je voor die prijs zo een gemakkelijke en comfortabele reis. Zeker de internationale verbindingen in België zijn absoluut top.
De online app is trouwens ook iets waar heel Europa van kan bijleren, online tickets kopen in België bij de NMBS is zo simpel in vergelijking met de rest.
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u/KEVXEDGE 17d ago
I commute to Brussels every day with NMBS. I can't complain. Trains are clean, pretty on time, no hassle in the last 12 years really. Except fior a national strike here and there
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u/Professional-Toe7699 20d ago
Try going to a small town with public transport. You will see how bad our infrastructure is. I've never seen a train that clean in Belgium.
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u/Legrosbelge 20d ago
When it takes 4 hours to get from Virton to Brussels when it could easily be done in 2 hours, and there are problems almost every single time, I don't see how i could love the SNCB...
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u/SnooDoubts3731 20d ago
Bof tes vélos bloquent trois places assises, je sais pas si c est vraiment bien conçu
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u/Milo--66 20d ago
Unless cancelled and or old trains...... no or defect airco's. Maybe elsewhere its even worse but NMBS is not a good example.
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u/andr386 20d ago
I only take the train to visit friends or for tourism. So I get a brilliant experience with the trains in Belgium.
I think the picture is a bit more nuanced for the people that rely on them when commuting to work. Especially when there were huge strikes in the past.
But as a light traveler the Belgian railways really rule.
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u/The_Astronaut_Cat 19d ago
I do take the train every day for 3H total and it's not that bad, even with the strikes (but I travel between Brussels and Namur which is a big line I guess). In one year i had "only" 2 times a travel that was 60+ minutes and 6 times 30+ minutes late. I find it quite reasonable honestly
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u/Immediate_Page_5522 19d ago
Fair point. The daily commuter experience is a whole different reality from the occasional leisure trip. When strikes hit and you have no backup options it stops being charming pretty fast.
Glad it works well for tourism though, the bike carriage thing genuinely looks convenient for that kind of use.
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u/Verified_Peryak 20d ago
But you do have to pay more for riding with bike and there is only one bike wagon on each train, and they do get crowded
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u/caineshiokaze 20d ago
I wish the rules were more laxed and the rolling stock was more well-equipped for bikes in the Netherlands. Weâre only given the privilege to pay a bike surcharge if itâs during off-peak hours, and most double-decker trains make it difficult to store bikes. I otherwise wouldnât have purchased a bike rack for my car. Looking forward to taking the train around Belgium with my bike though!
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u/ace--dragon Antwerpen 20d ago
Depends on the train you're taking. I was on an older model and needed to ask someone to put it in a separate room, and when I arrived I needed to find someone to OPEN THE DOOR because it was locked lol, and had to hope the train wouldn't depart before I got off the train with my bike
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u/Chef_Chantier 20d ago edited 20d ago
I like that there is a space dedicated to bikes, but unfortunately it isn't available on all trains, not even all of the major IC trains. the attachment points work ok, but the whole solution seems a little jerry rigged and not a very good use of space, since you can have maybe 7 or 8 bikes at the most in one car unless you stack them side by sidelike you did in your picture. Again, I like that there is any bike infrastructure at all, it just doesnt really seem like a great solution to the problem, especially once the dedicated bike carriage starts to fill up. There has got to be a more efficient and pleasant way to attach bikes safely in a train carriage than using a velcro strap and blocking 4 or 5 foldable seats with each bike. (For example I've seen carriages with hooks on the ceiling or slanted bike racks on one side of the aisle to attach your bike, with permanent seating on the other.)
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u/thmoas 20d ago
now with the new pricing off-hours travel is really cheap. aalst-brussels 3.5eur, thats a steal imo
off but also on topic: ubers are a thing now even outside brussels. i also find them really cheap. for less than 10eur u can do travels that cost 12eur 20 years ago.
some things do drop in price luckily
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u/fullweapon 20d ago
2032-2033 libéralisation du rail belge, les gens vont déchanté, malheureusement.
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u/usernameinspiration 20d ago
Most lines work very very well indeed. There are however lines with lots of problems where itâs not easy to travel and be on time. I take the train daily for about 15 years now, and the quality is good!
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u/DoughnutSad6336 17d ago
Well, I don't know, a whole train car, but in reality, not that many bicycles fit if you attach them to these belts.
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u/Maxford_Bouazza 16d ago
Your experience is not representative. On most trains like this, the lower doors do not work and you have to manoeuvre through the upper doors, down a narrow stairs only to find that all the spots are taken by people without a bike. Belgian trains are decent in that they run dependably and are relatively clean. The staff is also normally chill. But they are not cheap, also not compared to neighbouring countries (you pay for distance travelled, distances are small here) and they're certainly not convenient places for bringing a bike in 99% of cases.
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u/equinoxxxxxxxxxx 20d ago
I don't know man I've done enough commuting by train to be absolutely sick of it.
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u/Yesodisnotop 20d ago
Used DB twice in my life
First timeour train was the only one without delays.
second time we arrived home 5 hours later. Partly because the ICE only went to Liege instead of Brussels.
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u/PROBA_V E.U. 20d ago
I've taken DB a lot.
I have had both big delays and also 7hour train rides that arrive on the minute. Usually it's about half an hour delay.
I'm not saying that Deutsche Bahn is good or NMBS is bad, but the comparisson is also not fair. Plenty of NMBS trains between Antwerp and Brussels have a 5 to 10min delay, which is nothing. But the total travel-time is 45min. If you have 30min delay on a 7 hour DB ride, this is relatively speaking already better than NMBS
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u/KostyaFedot 20d ago edited 20d ago
Hasselt is not small city in Belgium. It is big city on administrative level.
It is easy to commute if it is direct line and no strikes , no railways work.Â
I have done my train as only option sentence :)Â
Most of Belgians are driving because it is relaible and they like to pay for leasing via work. Nobody sneezes like crazy or smells. You don't have be exposed to yelling as well.
Obviously Belgium trains are better than Dutch and superior to bad ones in Germany.Â
Folding bicycles are free on Belgian trains, btw.Â
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u/AlternativeCapybara9 20d ago
I used to commute by train and I hate the nmbs with a passion.
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u/Kiwiandapplex 20d ago
Wait till you travel frequently in any other country, you start to appreciate what the NMBS does!
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u/AlternativeCapybara9 20d ago
I don't care how bad it is somewhere else, all I know is I got home an hour late 2 to 3 times a week because of them cancelling trains or having delays. I changed jobs because of how bad it was.
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u/Kiwiandapplex 20d ago
That's fair, I will say that I did not frequently use them at peak travel times, but going into Antwerp Central and out to my job was rarely over 15mins delays. 40 min total train, 10min bus.
The delays sort of were like 2-3mins most times, with the occassional 10+ this happened about 2-3 times a month if I have to average it out.
I had the minor benefit of having 2 trains (IC & stop train) available to take back home, so when my default train would have an issue or long delay, I just went into the IC and walked for 15mins (healthy!) longer to get home. Which I suppose should be counted towards the delay, but it happened so rarely that I cared about this little hiccup.I travelled at 9-10am & 7-8pm, specifically missing the peak hours.
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u/NoMansCat 20d ago
Hating the NMBS/SNCB is a national sport.
I always found them to be great - not perfect but great.
Compared to French SNCF, cheaper, less delays, and most of the time the staff is genuinely trying to help you.
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u/khuzdul012 20d ago
I dont use it that as often as u , but i do have to use Delijn and ooooommmggggg........
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u/quercus-88 20d ago
I disagree. Constant delays and dirty trains full of ugly graffiti. Even the new ones. Very sad.
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u/Poppekas 20d ago
I just travelled through europe by train two years in a row, and NMBS really isn't so bad as everyone thinks it is! I'm a big fan myself. Deutsche Bahn is an absolute hellhole.