Pedestrians crossing railway tracks cause three hours of delays daily

Infrabel made a list of every incident that led to a delay of two minutes or more. The list covered copper thefts, bomb alerts, technical breakdowns, bad weather, construction works and so on.

“In the first four months of this year alone, there were 527 incidents of trespassing recorded, leading to 924 hours of delays,” Jos Decelle, punctuality manager for Infrabel, told Metro. Every day, three hours due to trespassing incidents, a situation Decelle described as “unfortunate, but mainly avoidable”.

During the same period, he said, signalling problems led to 86 hours of delay, and 131 hours was lost to weather problems. Infrabel’s research suggests every minute of delay costs the company – and therefore the taxpayer – €84.

“Everyone sticks to the rules of the road, but the rules of the railway are completely forgotten or ignored,” Infrabel spokesperson Arnaud Reymann reported to Metro. “Over the last few years, we’ve seen a change in passenger behaviour: a general indifference, a disregard for the dangers and a lack of respect for the rules. That leads to a great deal of damage and delay that could otherwise be avoided.”

Trespassing delays are a chain reaction following what seems to the pedestrian as a minor incident. According to Infrabel, when drivers see someone crossing the tracks at a place not designated for crossing, they have to report it. Drivers on the same track are told to slow their speed in that area, which leads to delays to several trains.

“Last year, between Essen and Antwerp, a young woman tried to catch her train by crossing the tracks,” Decelle explained. “She was hit by another train, but miraculously escaped injury. That one incident led to 17 hours of delays in Antwerp, Brussels, Charleroi, Mons and Liège because those lines are all linked to each other. There was even six hours of delay in the Netherlands, since the Den Haag Express is also linked to those lines. Now go and explain to a Dutchman that his train is 20 minutes late because a girl crossed the tracks in Kalmthout." 

Earlier this month, Infrabel launched a campaign to remind people – particularly young people, who make up the greatest number of people crossing the tracks illegally – of the dangers of speeding trains. The ad shows a young couple lying entwined on a grassy embankment. The man soon tries to cross to the other side of the tracks, only to be hit by a passing train. The slogan is: “Your life is worth a detour”.

Photo by Alan Hope