Train travel in Belgium is being disrupted this week due to a five-day strike by railway unions in the country.
Five unions representing rail workers have jointly called the industrial action in protest at government plans to reform the country’s railways. The strike started at 10pm on Sunday (25 January) and will run until 10pm on Friday (30 January).
National rail operator SNCB is running a reduced rail service in Belgium due to the strike, with the timetable based on staff members who “indicated their intention to work”.
“The impact of the strike varies from day to day,” said the operator in a statement. “SNCB advises its travellers to prepare their trip well by regularly consulting the online travel planner.”
SNCB said it would run 75 per cent of IC trains, which travel between major Belgium cities, on Tuesday (27 January), with two-thirds of these services currently set to operate on Wednesday (28 January). But fewer local and suburban services are expected to run.
Eurostar said in a statement it expected to run “a near normal timetable” during the five-day strike.
“However, please keep an eye on our live train info page,” added Eurostar in a message to passengers. “Domestic train traffic could be disrupted. If you have a connecting journey, please check for travel updates with the relevant carrier ahead of your trip. You may need to allow extra time for your journey.”
Ouigo’s Brussels-Paris trains and Deutsche Bahn’s ICE Brussels-Cologne-Frankfurt services are also due to run as scheduled on Tuesday and Wednesday, although there have been cancellations of some EuroCity trains between Brussels and Rotterdam in the Netherlands.