Belgium decides to tender passenger rail services in stages

Public service contracts for passenger rail will be tendered in stages; for services not yet put out to tender when the 2023–2032 contract expires, SNCB receives a directly awarded run-off contract, and a new federal authority is to plan and tender the services.

On 18 July 2026 the Belgian Council of Ministers, meeting by electronic procedure and chaired by Prime Minister Bart De Wever, approved on a proposal from Mobility Minister Jean-Luc Crucke the strategy and guidelines for restructuring the rail market. Once the public service contract between the state and SNCB (2023–2032) ends, at the latest, passenger services are to be tendered in a staggered sequence; whatever has not yet been put out to tender by then is to go to SNCB as a directly awarded run-off contract. The plan also provides for a strong federal authority that designs and tenders the services, and for rules on technical interoperability, timetable coordination between public and commercial trains, and uniform fares and tickets; Crucke is to work out the structure and timetable of the roll-out and submit it again for approval. (LOK Report, 20 Jul 2026)