The measure comes after a judge in the police court in Verviers, Wallonia, last week acquitted a man who had run up four €200 fines for fare-dodging. According to the judge, the requirement to have a valid ticket on pain of a fine is contained in the terms and conditions of the use of the railways, but not in a law. To be able to levy such a high fine, he said, required legislation.
At present, the system of fines is an inefficient way of penalising fare-dodgers. In 2008, there were more than 250,000 cases detected, but only half of those people ever paid up.
The new measure would take the question of fines for fare-dodgers out of the hands of the courts altogether, giving the rail authority NMBS the power to levy an administrative charge equivalent to a fine, such as has been the case for public transport authority De Lijn since 2007. Train conductors would have the power to demand ID from passengers in order to write tickets for fines, and to call in the police if the passenger refuses.
Fines of between €75 and €250 could be levied not only for fare-dodging but also for drunkenness, begging, parking offences on station territory and allowing animals to run free. A higher level of fine, up to €750, could be levied for anti-social behaviour such as vandalism, smoking or endangering other passengers. Repeat offenders could be banned from entering stations for a period of between 15 days and six months.
Flanders Today is a 
-10°C / -1°C
