Country info: Belgium (België/Belgique)

Rail companies: NMBS (Nationale Maatschappij der Belgishe Spoorwegen)

                             SNCB (Société Nationale des Chemins de fer Belges)

Tickets & schedules of EuroStar trains to London - www.eurostar.com

Belgium Rail Network Map

Currency: Euro 

Train travel in Belgium: train types, tickets, fares, discounts & other useful info

National Train Service:

Train types in Belgium: Suburban, Local, InterRegio, InterCity, Peak-hour, Tourist, International & International high-speed trains

• Suburban (marked as CR on NMBS/SNCF website) - suburban service (CityRail) in Brussels region, no seat reservation required 
• Local  (marked as L on NMBS/SNCB website) – short distance local service all over Belgium, no seat reservation required
• InterRegio (marked as IR on NMBS/SNCB website) – passenger trains connecting major cities with smaller regional towns & villages, no seat reservation required
• Piekuurtrein/Rush-hour (marked as P on NMBS/SNCB website) – additional trains brought to satisfy weekdays/holiday time peak-hours demand, no seat reservation required
• Tourist (marked as ICT on NMBS/SNCB website) – additional tourist season trains, usually run during summer & mainly to the sea coast, no seat reservation required
• InterCity (marked as IC on NMBS/SNCB website) – fast intercity service connecting major stations, no seat reservation required
• InterCity/EuroCity  (marked as INT on NMBS/SNCB website) - daytime international trains connecting Belgium with Luxembourg, Switzerland, Germany & Netherlands, no seat reservation required
• Fyra/Thalys/TGV/ICE/EuroStar – international high-speed trains connecting Belgium with France, Germany, Netherlands & London, seat reservation compulsory for Fyra, Thalys, TGV & EuroStar trains
  

 Discounts, special offers & ways to save money for passengers traveling in Belgium:

1. Weekend Ticket: for any return journey during weekend (and some public holidays) passengers receive 50% discount, Weekend Ticket can be purchased for journeys on Friday after 19:01, Saturday or Sunday  
2. GO Pass 1: Passengers below 26 years can take advantage of special Go Pass 1 ticket allowing any single journey anywhere (except 'fr'/'gr' points) in Belgium for only 6 euro, Go Pass 1 tickets can be purchased only online via SNCF/NMBS website
3. GO Pass 10 (<26 years) or Rail Pass (>26 years old), which allows passengers 10 single journeys from any to any Belgium station (except 'fr'/'gr' points), GO Pass 10 costs 50 euro, while Rail Pass is 76 euro
   
4. Senior Ticket: for passenger ≥65 years old Belgium Railways offer special Senior Ticket - return ticket to any destination in Belgium for only 6 euro (2nd class) or 13 euro (1st class), Senior Ticket can be purchased for journeys on weekdays from 9am and whole day during Saturday & Sunday
5. Large Family Ticket: SNCB/NMBS offers special 50% discount for adults & children >12 years old when traveling in families of ≥3 children. Children <12 travel free
   
6. Time to time NMBS/SNCB has a few special offers available during holidays, summer or any other occasion, these includes special 'Summerticket' (for travel during summer) or 'Shoppingticket' (for travels during Christmas time) etc., thus make sure you check www.belgianrail.be for current offers
   
7. Passengers can as well take advantage of SCIC-NRT/TCV international tickets in order to save some money (for more info see 'Western Europe-how cheap it can be?') for rail trips within Belgium. For example ticket from the very northwest of Belgium - Oostende to the southeast of the country - Arlon via whole Belgium,
   valid for one month & including unlimited stopovers on the way costs only 30 euro, basically such international ticket here can serve a role of rail pass for any predefined route

International Train Service:

a) Regular discounts

Not available

b) Special offers (SparSchiene)

Ticket offers with limited number of tickets per each departure (purchase in advance required):

• United Kingdom: from Brussels to London (EuroStar) from 50 euro one-way or 88 euro return, plus some additional promo campaigns possible time to time
• France: from Brussels to Paris (Thalys) from 22 euro one way or 50 euro return (Thalys Day Trip), from Brussels to Lille (one way from 18 euro), from Brussels to Lyon, Marseille, Nice, Montpellier (one way from 29 euro)
  
• Netherlands: from Brussels to Amsterdam (Thalys) from 29 euro, from Brussels to Maastricht (InterCity) from 18 euro
• Germany: from Brussels to Cologne, Aachen, Bonn, Dusseldorf, Essen (Thalys & ICE) from 19 euro; from Brussels to Frankfurt, Berlin (from 39 euro), from Brussels to Munich, Hamburg, Nurnberg (from 48 euro)
• Switzerland: from Brussels to Basel (from 91 euro), from Brussels to Zurich (from 110 euro)
• Austria: from Brussels to Kufstein, Worgl, Zell am See with TreSki train (from 85 euro)
• Luxembourg: from Brussels to Luxembourg (InterCity & EuroCity) from 38 euro

+ special cross-border fares available for short distance trips from Belgium to Northern France (Trampoline ticket), Luxembourg (Luxembourg border ticket), Netherlands (Maastricht & Roosendal), Germany (Aachen)

c) CityStars

Not available

You can as well purchase Benelux Tourrail Card - special pass which is valid for one month, during which you can go as you please for 5 days in the 3 Benelux countrie (Adults: 149 euro (2nd class) and 219euro (1class); Youth(<26) - 99euro (2class)

It is possible to use Rail Plus Card in order to get discount on all NMBS/SNCB international connections (besides route where Global prices tariff is used), Rail Plus card from NMBS/SNCB cost 20 euro for youth (<26) & seniors (>60) or 45 euro for adults (26-60)

In order to save on international journeys it is as well possible to use SCIC-NRT/TCV tariff tickets (for more details see 'Western Europe – how cheap it can be?' section). For example Antwerp to Luxembourg SCIC-NRT/TCV tariff ticket valid for one month & including unlimited stopovers on the way costs only 37,6 euro (basically such international ticket here can serve a role of rail pass for any predefined route)

How to Buy Train Tickets in Belgium:

National (domestic) tickets for journeys within Belgium can be purchased online SNCB/NMBS website - www.belgianrail.be

For purchase of international tickets passengers should address www.b-europe.com

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