Travelling onboard the train

Download the MoveSafe app (Android and iOS) to plan your trip and find out how busy your train is.

When a train is arriving at a platform, whether it is stopping or not, please stay behind the safety lines marked on the floor and keep as far back from the edge of the platform as possible to ensure your safety.

Since the 10th June 2018, a new train departure procedure has been in application. Now all doors must be closed before the train can depart. More specifically, this means that all train doors close 30 seconds before the departure time and from this point on, passengers will no longer be allowed to board. This new departure procedure aims to improve safety for both the passengers and train conductors.

We invite you to make your way to a compartment of the same class as that written on your ticket.
If you would like to know if there may be issues with seat availability on your train, please check our online planner, especially during peak travel times. Please ensure you do not block passageways by keeping access to the toilets and doors clear.

When composing our trains, we allocate around 15 to 20% of seats to 1st class travellers and around 80 to 85% of seats to 2nd class travellers.

For carriage trains, this is easy to organise. This is not the case for electric multiple unit trains, that work in a modular configuration with a set number of places in 1st and 2nd class, and where the distribution between the classes is not always optimal. In order to improve this distribution and the comfort of our passengers, trains with this type of configuration are often composed of declassified coaches. In case of overcrowded trains, the conductor may open up 1st class seating to 2nd class passengers.

If you have already bought a 2nd class ticket but would like to travel in 1st class, you can buy an upgrade on the website, at a ticket vending machine or at a ticket counter. If you would like to purchase an upgrade onboard the train, the On-board Fare supplement will apply (upgrade + €7 supplement).

Please be aware that an upgrade is not available for some journey tariffs.

If your ticket is torn, creased or illegible, or if you are unable to show your ticket (PDF) to the train conductor, he or she will issue a statement of irregularity. You should then contact the Customer Service via this form.

You can place your luggage in the intended luggage spaces. You will find them above and below your seat, between seats or in similar locations. When storing your luggage, please ensure it does not exceed the intended storage space or block the corridors.
If you are travelling with a non-folding bike, the train conductor can tell you where you can store your bike during your journey.
For more information, please see the pages on Travelling with a bike and Travelling with luggage and pets.

In most trains, you will find electrical outlets in every carriage.
Their location and number depends on the type of train/carriage. Given the growing necessity, we plan to have more electrical outlets in our new trains (delivery planned for 2019).

The time when the train started moving with the train manager's door still open for a few seconds is now history. Since June 2018, to ensure everyone's safety, the train departs with all doors closed.

This new departure procedure has been further improved since June 2024. When he has closed all the doors (including his own), the train manager now transmits the departure signal to the driver by means of a connected watch.

The doors close and the signal is sent at the earliest 59 seconds and at the latest a few seconds before the announced departure time, depending on the train composition (type and number of carriages), but also on the expected number of passengers, the presence of a group, etc....

So when you take the train, think ahead: we recommend you to be on the platform at least 1 minute in advance.

Due to high demand for equipment across the country, we sometimes have to use older units that are not air conditioned to ensure we have enough space available for all of our passengers.

Additionally, diesel carriages (equipped with air conditioning) are not able to run on all lines for technical reasons. As a result, in summer, diesel trains may run on less busy lines while busier lines will be operated by double-decker trains that are not air conditioned but do have plenty of seating available.

We are constantly monitoring the occupancy of our trains to ensure your journey is as comfortable as possible. Based on these observations, we determine the number of seats and, consequently, the number of carriages required for each train.

We also have to take into account the circulation of equipment (one carriage may be used by several trains a day), the possibility of carriages depending on time (peak and off-peak), the maximum length permitted for the locomotives, and any unforeseen events (a carriage could be damaged, and therefore unusable).

Continue your journey as usual unless otherwise informed by the train conductor, who follows specific instructions on what to in the event of an alarm sounding for a specific reason. The alarm may sound for other reasons (communication between the conductor and train manager, HELP button in the toilets, etc.), in which case you should ignore the alarm.

Law enforcement agents may sometimes be present onboard the train. They are usually railway police and, occasionally, Securail agents from the SNCB’s own security service. These agents assist the train conductor to carry out his or her duties where fraudsters or uncooperative passengers are present.

Only a Group Ticket entitles you to reserved seating.

If you have difficulties walking or standing up, the Priority Seat Card entitles you to a guaranteed seat.

Would you like to make your train journey more comfortable? Why not upgrade and travel more comfortably in first class!