New SNCB timetable sees more evening and weekend trains

Belgian railway operator SNCB has introduced a new timetable from this Sunday, with more trains in the evening and at weekends, including on the suburban S-network around Brussels and parts of Flanders.

“Thanks to these additional trains, passengers who go out for the evening in Brussels (or Antwerp) can still get home well after midnight,” SNCB said.

“With these expansions, train services will grow by 2% in 2026.”

Since 2023, the number of train services provided by the SNCB have grown by about 5%, with the goal of achieving 10% growth by 2032.

The latest changes include extra late-night S-trains on the Brussels-Antwerp and 's-Gravenbrakel-Brussels-Leuven lines on Fridays and Saturdays.

There will also be more IC trains running between major cities during the weekend. For example, the service between Charleroi and Brussels and between Liège and Brussels will be doubled.

A new Liège-Brussels IC train route will also stop at Brussels Airport. Leuven will have a third IC connection per hour to and from Brussels, and the IC train via Aarschot between Antwerp and Leuven will also run at weekends.

The suburban service around major cities will also be strengthened: the S4 train between Aalst and Brussels-Luxembourg (via Jette) will run every half hour.

Connections such as the S3 (Denderleeuw-Brussels-Dendermonde), S5 (Geraardsbergen-Brussels-Mechelen) and S7 (Halle-Merode-Vilvoorde-Mechelen) will also be strengthened.

A new P train will be added between Dendermonde and Brussels-Midi (via Jette and Brussels-North) during the morning and evening rush hours.

Further changes to suburban networks around Antwerp and Charleroi are planned for next September.