This updated SNCB schedule includes a nearly 2% increase in service, building on a 1% increase implemented in 2024. The new plan also reinstates 220 trains that were previously removed due to staffing challenges following the COVID-19 pandemic.
The revised 2023-2026 Transport Plan now targets a 5% increase in service rather than the previously planned 7%, reflecting current staffing levels and infrastructure limitations on the Infrabel network.
The changes include the return of 220 additional trains per week, with a focus on enhancing suburban services. Notable updates include the addition of a second S train per hour during peak times between Antwerp and Herentals and the introduction of new P trains around Ghent, Grammont, and Kortrijk.
In the Antwerp region, the S-train service between Puurs, Antwerp, and Essen will now run twice an hour on Saturdays. Starting June 2025, the S81 line between Schaerbeek, Brussels-Schuman, Ottignies, and Louvain-la-Neuve will operate throughout the day on weekdays, providing a third S train per hour between Ottignies and Brussels and adding a stop in the European quarter.
The S connection between Ghent, Lokeren, Oudenaarde, and Ronse will see hourly service from December, with three new trains added.
The "Dampoortexpress," a direct train running during peak hours between Sint-Niklaas, Lokeren, Ghent-Dampoort, and Brussels, will return to its original schedule in December. The train was rescheduled in December 2023 due to conflicts with Eurostar services.
Service on the IC Brussels-Antwerp route will be adjusted to four trains per hour from December, down from five. One of these will serve Brussels Airport, following adjustments due to capacity constraints and higher usage fees associated with Eurostar services.
In June 2025, following the completion of work on the Carsoel bridge, additional S trains will operate between Brussels-Luxembourg and Nivelles, as well as between Brussels-Luxembourg, Halle, and Enghien.
Some train routes will be modified to improve reliability and punctuality. Changes include adjustments to routes around Mons and Dendermonde. IC trains between Liège-Guillemins, Ans, Waremme, and Brussels will follow a new path, including a stop at Brussels Airport. This change will extend the journey time between Waremme and Brussels by 13 minutes but will also introduce a new S connection between Waremme and Landen. The P trains will continue to run during peak hours.
Infrastructure constraints will affect some services, including the temporary suspension of a P train between Kortrijk and Ghent in the morning. However, IC trains with sufficient capacity will operate before and after this service. An evening P train between Ghent-Saint-Pierre and Kortrijk will resume.
A new high-speed rail link will be introduced in December 2024, connecting Brussels-South and Amsterdam-Zuid 16 times daily with new ICNG trains from NS. This addition will double the number of daily trains between Belgium and the Netherlands. A new classic train service will also begin between Brussels and Paris, via Mons.
