Oostende –
It was once a familiar image, the typical telephone boxes. Recently, there is also one near the NMBS shunting center in Ostend. Not to make phone calls – there is no longer a telephone – but as a shelter for the train drivers pending their transfer to the depot.
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It was the train drivers who were asking for a shelter. Walking back to the depot takes about 45 minutes. Until today, a taxi service was used. However, because work has been going on for more than a year, taxis were no longer able to drive close to the marshalling yard.
“A solution was necessary. But such infrastructure points to a lack of respect for the job, ”the union said. It seems as if the telephone box was just dropped there, because even the asphalt of the former permanent site is still hanging on it. According to the NMBS, this is a temporary solution to prevent train drivers from waiting in the rain. “The phone booth will go away when the work is done,” said spokesman Bart Crols. “There was a waiting area for the drivers, but it is no longer accessible by the taxi service. That is why we temporarily provided this alternative while the works last. It is a shelter that is used by one driver for just a few minutes, nothing more. ”
