2023-08-18 13:44:14
The CEO of SNCB, Sophie Dutordoir, has just sent a letter to the federal, regional and municipal authorities asking them to reinforce both safety and cleanliness around the Brussels-Midi station by mentioning the “persistent problems” around , said Friday the railway company, which received the support of its minister, Georges Gilkinet.
SNCB made two requests in its letter, addressed to the Minister-President of the Brussels-Capital Region, Rudi Vervoort (PS), to the Federal Minister for Mobility, Georges Gilkinet (Ecolo), to the Federal Minister of the Interior , Annelies Verlinden (CD&V), and to the mayors of Saint-Gilles and Anderlecht, Jean Spinette (PS) and Fabrice Cumps (also PS).
It first ‘urges’ a very short-term initiative, bringing together stakeholders to ensure immediate improvement on the ground.
SNCB would then like to start discussions about the installation of a police station which would be planned near Brussels-Midi and in particular to examine whether this station can be housed in the station itself. This could indeed be part of the answer to the current challenges, she added.
According to the SNCB, the situation in and around the station is today “dramatic” in terms of nuisance and incivility, even though more than 50,000 people take the train there every day, which makes it the most popular in Belgium. It is also the international hub for rail traffic in our country and the main gateway for international travelers visiting Belgium. It is also SNCB’s main place of work: 4,000 of its employees work in the immediate vicinity of the station.
SNCB has ensured that it is taking measures with an integrated action plan, in particular with the deployment of Securail agents and collaboration with external partners such as the railway police and the local police. It carries out more cleaning, physical improvements in the station, and carries out the renovation project for the former Tri Postal building located on avenue Fonsny, which will have a positive impact on the station district.
“However, this is not enough and SNCB has neither the means nor the skills to tackle it alone. The safety of passengers and staff is SNCB’s top priority, which requires each partner to assume its responsibilities, whether it concerns the basic safety aspect, prevention, regional planning, cleanliness,” added the public company.
Mr. Gilkinet, for his part, assured on Friday that he “fully shares SNCB’s concerns about the Brussels-Midi station as well as the proposal to appoint a body to coordinate the safety and cleanliness of the site and its surroundings.
“What applies to Brussels-Midi station applies to Brussels-North,” said the Federal Minister for Mobility in a press release.
“At the end of July, I questioned my colleague from the Interior, Annelies Verlinden, about the situation at the Gare du Midi and she promised me the organization during the month of August of a coordination meeting with the police authorities concerned, federal police, local police and railway police, with representatives of the SNCB”, affirmed Mr. Gilkinet.
According to him, such an approach is “very necessary” in terms of cleanliness, with Bruxelles-Propreté and the municipalities concerned.
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