Rail strike halts Belgium’s trains

Thousands of commuters have been forced to find other ways of getting to work after a 24-hour strike by Belgian rail staff brought train services in and out of the country to a standstill.

No Thalys high speed trains are connecting Belgium with neighbouring France, Germany, or the Netherlands. The Eurostar Channel Tunnel
connection from Britain to Brussels is also affected by the stoppage.

The dispute is over restructuring plans for the cargo unit of the state owned SNCB rail company. But that provides little consolation for inconvenienced passengers.

A stranded mother-of-two at Brussels Midi train station said: “Normally a bus should be here to replace the trains, but it’s more than two hours late.”

Normal working should resume on Friday but unions are keeping their options open. Union organiser Luc Piens said: “We announced last Monday that we will organise a 24 hour strike. If there is no
progress or results during the negotiations, then we will be forced to continue our actions until the end of the year.”

Signalling staff and rail workers fear as many as 3,000 jobs could go and union officials are considering calling a series of weekly strikes.

Copyright © 2009 euronews

tags: Belgium, Transport