No trains will run between 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. in West Flanders or in a large part of East Flanders. Traffic will also be at a standstill on the main lines around Antwerp. Infrabel’s late decision sparked reactions on the political benches given that storm Eunice had been announced for several days. The Dutch authorities, for example, decided on Thursday not to run their trains this Friday.
For the Minister of Mobility, the security and information of travelers are a priority, but the Deputy Prime Ecolo is having trouble digesting the timing of the announcement, his cabinet said. The CEO of Infrabel, Benoît Gilson, has in the meantime been called to order and an evaluation meeting has been requested in the coming days.
Within the majority, the Vooruit parliamentarian, Joris Vandenbroucke, spoke of amateurism to qualify the attitude of the railways and of an “incredible hiccup”. Kim Buyst (Groen) also acknowledges that Infrabel’s operational decision comes a bit late.
N-VA MP Björn Anseeuw, in opposition, expressed his displeasure. “Apparently it’s hard in this country to anticipate things that you know are going to happen,” he said. He also sees a last-minute announcement in education. Many schools decided on Friday that they would close their doors in the afternoon.
Maria Vindevoghel, MP PTB, also wonders why the decision to suspend rail traffic was not taken on Thursday. How is it possible that the SNCB only now decides to stop rail traffic, when everyone has already left their homes to go to school or work…”, she wrote on Twitter.
A concern for travelers shared by the commuters’ organization TreinTramBus which, while believing that SNCB and Infrabel have not made a big mistake, hopes that arrangements will be made for travelers who left this morning by train for the school or at work.