Belgium’s railway system is experiencing a historic decline in reliability, with train cancellations and delays reaching record levels in 2025, according to new data reported by the Belga News Agency.
The national rail infrastructure operator, Infrabel, has recorded 5,006 cancelled passenger trains across the country in February 2025 alone—the highest monthly figure since December 2022. The first half of 2025 is on pace to become the worst year for train reliability in recent memory.
Unreliable Service on the Rise
On average, 4,070 scheduled trains were cancelled every month between January and June 2025. This surpasses the previous record set in 2023, which had an average of 4,016 cancellations per month. These statistics do not include days affected by railway strikes, suggesting the actual disruptions are even more widespread.
“This is not what passengers deserve,” Infrabel and NMBS/SNCB, Belgium’s national train operator, said in a joint statement. Both organizations acknowledged that train punctuality had reached a five-year low in 2023, and the situation has only worsened since.
Falling Punctuality and Rising Frustration
In 2023, only 87.5% of trains were punctual, compared to 89.2% in 2022. That figure drops further when accounting for the 46,086 cancellations recorded in 2023. With these included, the real punctuality rate stands at 84.6%, meaning roughly 1 in 7 trains was either late or didn’t run at all.
NMBS/SNCB spokesperson Dimitri Temmerman attributed the crisis to several factors:
- Single-track infrastructure in many parts of the country, limiting flexibility.
- Technical failures affecting rolling stock.
- Third-party incidents, such as trespassing and accidents.
“This shows that new trains are urgently needed,” Temmerman told VRT NWS.
A System Under Pressure
The deteriorating reliability is having a real impact on passengers, who now face growing uncertainty over their commutes. The situation has sparked demands for urgent investment in both infrastructure and rolling stock.
Rail operators had promised to make punctuality a top priority in 2024, but halfway through 2025, there has been no official update on whether those targets have been met.
As climate concerns and traffic congestion push more commuters toward public transport, Belgium’s struggling railway system risks losing public trust unless swift reforms are implemented.
