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Railways through Europe |
maps and interoperabilty |
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| Content is mostly outdated and page is not updated anymore. |
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The SNCB is abandoning the operation
of unprofitable international trains
SNCB Press Release, 14 Feb. 2003
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The framework for the operation of international rail services in Europe has
been changed drastically, which has inevitably had an impact on the
available services.
Until recently, the cost of operating a conventional (= non-TGV)
international passenger service was shared between the various railway
companies concerned. But even then, few of these trains were profit-making.
Now, each international train must be regarded as the responsibility of a
single company, which incurs all the costs but also receives all the revenue
attributable to it. The SNCB thus has to decide which of those now
terminating in Belgium will attract sufficent revenue to justify its future
operation, taking into account that it has little scope for reducing most of
these costs as they are inevitably incurred outside Belgium.
The search for possible solutions
The SNCB has analysed the options in depth with the aim of identifying how
best to adapt its services to this new situation, while ensuring that they
are economically viable. One obvious option would be to increase the prices
charged so that they cover the costs. But, taking into account the
increasing competition, especially from low-fare airlines, this does not
appear to be a realistic approach.
Decisions
The SNCB Administrative Council has decided today to discontinue operation
of all its overnight trains (conventional trains and car-carrying trains)
with effect from 14 Dec. 2003.
The only overnight trains running to and from Belgium from that date will be
those running nightly between Brussels and Vienna (operated by Austrian
Railways) and between Brussels and Berlin (operated by Die Bahn). And the nu
mber of car-carrying trains to be operated this summer between Belgium and
the south of France (Narbonne and St-Raphael) will be reduced with effect
from 1 August 2003. However, the service between Belgium and Bologna will
run as already advertised. |
| translation by Alan Reekie |
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page last updated: 26. March 2018 |
©1998-2013 Thorsten Büker |
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