THE board of Belgian National Railways (SNCB) has approved a €3.2bn investment programme for 2018-2022, which will be implemented with the three core aims of improving services, the quality of stations, and the management and maintenance of the rolling stock fleet.

THE Belgian city of Antwerp has announced plans to pilot Mobility as a Service (MaaS), which brings public transport, taxis, bike hire, and car sharing together in a single subscription-based service to provide a convenient alternative to the private car.

A test train transporting beer from a brewery in Jupille near Liège to a distribution centre at Ninove near Brussels arrived at its destination on June 13.

THE board of Belgian light rail operator De Lijn has approved an order for up to 146 CAF Urbos 100 low-floor LRVs following an appeal by Bombardier and subsequent re-evaluation of the bids.

SIGNIFICANT changes were made to the tram network in Antwerp on June 3 with the opening of an extension in the north of the city and a new tunnel in the city centre.

THE first e320 train arrived in Brussels on May 23 on a preview trip from London ahead of the entry of these trains on the London - Brussels route on May 28.

AFTER a difficult year in 2016, Eurostar returned to growth in the first three months of this year with increasing revenues and ridership, according to the operator’s first quarter results, which were published on May 10.

B LOGISTICS, the privatised Belgian rail freight operator which was split off from Belgian National Railways (SNCB), has changed its name to Lineas.

THALYS has marked the first anniversary of its Izy low-fares services between Paris and Brussels by announcing plans to increase capacity and adjust its operating model to “ensure economic robustness.”

THE European Investment Bank (EIB) has granted Belgian National Railways (SNCB) a €600m loan to invest in modernising its rolling stock fleet.