Train traffic is expected to gradually recover from 6 p.m. Trains will continue to run in the Kempen, Limburg, Flemish Brabant and Wallonia. Their speed is limited to 80 kilometers per hour. High-speed trains are not allowed to go faster than 160 kilometers per hour.
“We have closely monitored the situation since yesterday morning,” SNCB spokesman Bart Crols explains to HLN Live. “Of course we want to continue to drive as much as possible, but that has to be done safely. It is clear that, given the impact of the storm, this is no longer possible in West Flanders and large parts of East Flanders. Train traffic there will be stopped as a precaution between 2 pm and 6 pm – during the peak of the storm,” says Crols.
The decision to suspend train traffic has been criticized on Twitter. The timing is especially disappointing to many. Many commuters took the train to work this morning, for example. They can’t track back home this afternoon. Crols advises these travelers to return home before 2 pm.
Thomas Baeken of rail network operator Infrabel also calls on train passengers to return home in the morning if possible.
Just today maintenance work is taking place on the website of the NMBS. This setback is also high on many Twitter users.
Some of the disgruntled reactions on Twitter: