The majority of the extra budget would go to rail network operator Infrabel. For example, Gilson wants to increase the investment budget from 800 million a year now to more than 1 billion from next year. Gilson is also aiming for an extra 100 million on an annual basis for operating costs. Over the entire term of the new management agreement, this involves an additional budget of approximately 3 billion euros. This money must be used, among other things, to eliminate overdue track maintenance, to invest in extra rail capacity and to increase the accessibility of the stations.
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For the NMBS, this is an extra 400 million euros. That amount would be divided equally between operational costs and new investments.
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“It is a necessary industrial plan if you want to make the modal shift from the car to sustainable transport,” says Dutordoir. “If the necessary resources are not provided for this, you can forget about that modal shift.”
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Federal Minister of Mobility Georges Gilkinet will defend the two new rail management agreements in the federal government in the coming weeks.
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