Every year on the second Sunday of December, the railway company NMBS proposes its changes to the timetable. The new timetable is part of the NMBS's 2020-2023 transport plan. The most striking novelty is the new fast IC connection between Hasselt and Antwerp Central on weekdays. The Benelux train, on the other hand, no longer runs directly to The Hague. Another novelty is the IC train from Antwerp to Brussels Airport and Leuven/Hasselt, which will from now on run every hour on Sundays and public holidays between Leuven and Hasselt.
Benelux train
As previously announced, the Benelux train no longer runs directly from Brussels to The Hague. Travelers with that destination have to change trains in Breda or Rotterdam. All Benelux trains from Brussels will therefore run to Amsterdam Central from now on. That will be sixteen a day in both directions. The IC trains Brussels-South – The Hague/Amsterdam will now run all the way to Amsterdam Central, both on weekdays and during the weekend. As a result, from now on sixteen instead of twelve IC trains will run per day between Brussels and Amsterdam, in both directions. These trains also stop in Mechelen, Antwerp-Berchem, Antwerp-Central and Noorderkempen. Travelers to The Hague can change trains in Breda or Rotterdam.
"As Minister of Mobility, I have expressly asked NMBS to apply its transport plan for 2022. In order to convince more people to take the train, it is important that the train offer is structurally strengthened. This is also my ambition: more trains, more customers for NMBS, less CO2 emissions and traffic jams, and also more own resources for NMBS and Infrabel.Together with the federal government, I want to make the train the backbone of our mobility!” Minister Gilkinet sees this structural increase as a step in the right direction and expresses his solidarity with SNCB employees: “All my support for the train staff who, like the rest of society, are now being hit hard by the pandemic Thanks to them, the trains have been able to run in complete safety all these months. NMBS is now forced to organize itself to allow train traffic to run as smoothly as possible, even in these difficult circumstances. But we are doing everything we can to restart all trains as soon as possible. Together we are working on the train of the future!”
The transport plan provides for an expansion of the offer by almost 5 percent between December 2020 and the end of 2023. That would correspond to a thousand extra trains per week.
year-end period
From 11 December and throughout the holiday season, NMBS offers travelers the opportunity to take the train with two people for the price of one. With the Duo Ticket, two people travel for the price of one Standard Ticket. The offer is valid from December 11 to January 9, 2022. The Duo Ticket is the ideal way to get out and about by train at an extra affordable price. You can easily reach your destination by train, avoid traffic jams and do not lose time looking for a parking space.
The Duo Ticket is for sale via the NMBS app, on sncb.be, at the ticket machines and at the counters. The ticket allows two people to travel together for the price of a Standard Ticket for one person, with the price varying according to the chosen route. The Duo Ticket is valid every weekday and every weekend from 11 December to 9 January 2022. NMBS advises its travelers to consult the NMBS app. This informs passengers about the occupancy rate of the trains and thus contributes to a better distribution of passengers over the various trains.
Also read: New RET timetable stops transport to Noordereiland
