National Railway Company of Belgium controversies
Controversies tied to this brand in public sources. A listing is not a finding of fault.
Back to profile3 entries
2020
SNCB fined over staff exposure to chromium trioxide
Fine or penalty
Belgian rail operator SNCB was fined €210,000 after a labour court case concerning staff exposure to chromium trioxide during renovation works. The judge said SNCB knew of the risks but failed to take necessary preventive measures.
Source excerpt
Belgian rail operator SNCB has been fined €210,000 for exposing staff to a toxic substance for a year and a half, during renovation works.
The SNCB knew this but did not take the necessary preventive measures.
2019
SNCB and Infrabel fined over Buizingen rail disaster
Fine or penalty
A Brussels court fined SNCB and Infrabel €550,000 each for their roles in the 2010 Buizingen rail disaster. Infrabel's penalty was partly suspended, leaving it to pay €275,000.
Source excerpt
Belgian rail firm SNCB and track operator Infrabel have each been fined €550,000 for their role in the 2010 Buizingen rail disaster - Belgium's worst in 50 years.
While SNCB must pay its fine in full, Infrabel's penalty was part-suspended, meaning the rail operator must only pay half (€275,000).
A Brussels court ruled on Tuesday that while the driver of the stopping train who ran the red signal was partly responsible, the absence of an automatic braking system and the use of an old locomotive on the train were also major contributing factors.
1942
Participation in wartime deportation transports
During the German occupation of Belgium, the railway company operated trains used to deport Jewish and Roma people to Auschwitz and political prisoners to concentration camps. The cited account says that 28 trains transported 25,843 Jewish and Roma people, with 1,195 survivors from the Auschwitz transports, and that about 16,000 political prisoners were also transported. The episode is a grave part of the institution's wartime history.