SNCB opens new EUR 47 million maintenance hall in Ostend

On 16 January 2026 SNCB inaugurated a new hall at its traction workshop in Ostend, investing EUR 47 million. The hall is 200 m long, 18 m wide and 13 m high with two drive-through tracks, so long trains can be serviced in one piece and up to four fit inside; it is complemented by a 370 m outdoor inspection pit with a pantograph platform, cleaning platforms, an industrial signalling system and new shunting vehicles. Construction began in 2020 and the hall entered service at the end of 2025; it is SNCB's fifth new large hall after Arlon, Hasselt, Kinkempois and Melle, and the site employs about 250 people and handles almost 400 trains and locomotives a month. About ten hires are planned for 2026, and the 2023–2032 investment plan earmarks EUR 1.4 billion for workshops. (LOK Report, 21 Jan 2026) Update (21 January 2026): SNCB's new maintenance hall in Ostend went into service at the end of 2025 and was inaugurated on 16 January 2026. (LOK Report, 21 January 2026)