Since 31 August each Belgian resident older than 12 years has been able to claim the “Hello Belgium Railpass” – a card offering 12 free train rides. With this gesture, the National Railway Company of Belgium (SNCB) invites those residing in the country to discover over 500 destinations at no charge.
Travel for free, but safely
Residents older than 12 years of age can claim their Pass by 30 September and receive it by post (children under 12 who are accompanied by an adult already travel for free). The pass is valid for 2 single journeys per month between 5 October 2020 and 31 March 2021.
The “Hello Belgium Railpass” is meant for anyone residing in Belgium registered in the Population Register, the Foreign Nationals Register or the Protocol Register. The pass is nominal and in order to receive it, interested passengers must submit an online application.
The pass entitles passengers to a total of 12 free journeys made during the week from 9 a.m. (outside rush hours) and at any time during the weekend and is valid on all SNCB trains on the entire Belgian rail network. It allows you to make journeys between 2 Belgian stations (excluding border stops), on standard SNCB trains.
The Hello Belgium Railpass does not allow, however, to travel onboard high-speed trains such as Thalys, Eurostar, TGV or ICE. Those who are travelling to or from the Brussels Airport-Zaventem station will have to purchase a Brussels Airport Supplement for each journey they make.
Spacing out journeys allows avoiding a sudden influx of passengers on the trains, an essential measure taken specifically with COVID-19 in mind. Furthermore, to keep its clients better informed, the railway company is working on the development of an application that will indicate the occupancy of trains in real-time via different colour codes. The goal is to launch the application in mid-September.
Source: TheMayor.EU
