Longer trains to Belgium due to extreme crowds: ‘Necessary evil’

The Belgian railway company NMBS is deploying longer trains between the Netherlands and Belgium. As a result, the trains between Roosendaal and Puurs in Belgium have double the capacity. The NMBS does this because of the crowds by Dutch people who go to Belgium. “It is not normal.”

Despite the advice not to travel to Belgium by train, they have been seeing throngs of people getting in and out at the station in Roosendaal for days. “It is not normal,” says an NS employee at Roosendaal station, where a slow train departs for the Belgian tourist spot. A much longer travel time than, for example, via Breda, but many day trippers are apparently willing to pay for it.

‘Extra travelers not intended’
The extra long trains are a necessary evil, according to a spokesperson for the NMBS. “It has been very busy since Monday, especially towards Antwerp. Despite the advice of the Dutch Railways, it was a safety measure that we had to take. Not only for day trippers who go shopping, but also for those who take the train for work. It is therefore certainly not the intention that we will attract even more travelers with this, although the pressure will continue in the coming days.”

“You have to do something, don’t you?”
The influx of Dutch people gets a lot of attention in Belgian media anyway. The newspaper Gazet van Antwerpen asked readers for their opinion about the day trippers, which resulted in mixed reactions. One reader writes that the borders must be closed, while another says ‘it is allowed, so don’t whine’.

Also the day trippers who get off or change trains in Roosendaal on Wednesday evening, are largely not interested in the negative travel advice. “Whether it was smart to go to Antwerp? No, but yes, you have to do something,” responds a woman. Another couple does not regret the trip either. “For the rest, we do everything wisely.”

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