On Thursday, many Dutch people again came to Antwerp to avoid the lockdown in their own country. It is busy on the road and on the train. Police say 14 people were arrested in two separate fights.
–
The trek to Antwerp on Thursday led to traffic jams and slow driving, especially on the E19, including at the border crossing and Loenhout. The Flemish Traffic Center once again called on not to enter the Antwerp city center by car, but to leave it at one of the Park + Ride parkings outside the city.
Yet many day trippers again ignored this good advice and drove into the center of Antwerp en masse. This caused traffic jams on the Leien and dangerous situations at some busy points.
Many Dutch people have also traveled to Antwerp by train in recent days. The federal police estimate that almost 6,400 Dutch tourists got off the train on Tuesday. On Wednesday, January 29, there were even more than 7,600 travelers. Another 6,500 Dutch train passengers are expected on Thursday.
Extra ‘crowd control’
To ensure that the flow of passengers runs smoothly, the federal police works closely with Securail and the Antwerp police, among others. All services deploy additional staff. ‘In consultation with the NMBS, the trains to and from the Netherlands are spread over different platforms in order to separate the passenger flows,’ says the federal police.
After the closure of the shops, many tourists, including many families with children, return to the Netherlands. From 6 p.m., the security services will focus more on crowd control in the station and on the platforms. “In the following hours it usually remains very busy with a younger traveler crowd, sometimes groups of young people who are somewhat under the influence of alcohol,” said the police. ‘The security services will continue to be present until the last trains to the Netherlands have left around 11 p.m.’
brawl
So far there have been no major incidents. Although the police had to intervene in two fights. A total of fourteen people were arrested. Seven Dutch and two Belgians were involved in the first fight, near the Grote Markt. One person ended up in hospital. The second fight took place on the Waalsekaai, with five Dutch people involved. At the beginning of January, there will be an evaluation of the operation with all services involved, led by the Crisis Center and in the presence of Antwerp Governor Cathy Berx.
– .
