Rail passengers in Belgium are facing sort of Russian roulette on the rails for the next 9 days, with a strike by two rail worker unions that will see some service each day, but with notice only the day before of which trains will run.
The strike was called by the Belgian Autonomous Union of Train Drivers for the full two-weekends-plus-a-work-week duration and by the Train Drivers Union for Monday through Friday. The strike covers the entire Belgian rail network.
The issues in the strike include opposition to government mesure that would raise the retirement age for train drivers and close many smaller stations as part of economy moves by the country’s new government, just installed late last month after months of negotiations following last year’s elections.
International services such as Eurostar, TGV Inoui and Eurocity trains are not expected to be affected.
