Break of Journey - Belgium

[4COR]

Quick question on behalf of some friends - they are travelling from Brussels Airport to Ghent. Can they break a journey at Bruxelles Midi on the way (for several hours) on a single ticket, or does it require two separate tickets?

Many thanks!

 

[nwales58]

Allowed. Rules are somewhere on Belgian rail.be, including in English.

 

[AY1975]

Allowed. Rules are somewhere on Belgian rail.be, including in English.

I can't find it anywhere on there.

I seem to recall that back in the 1990s break of journey in Belgium was only allowed for passengers in transit, i.e. on their way to another country. Not sure if that's still the case.

 

[Wandering Pom]

After quite a bit of digging through the SNCB website at https://www.belgiantrain.be, I found the English-language page for their standard tickets, at https://www.belgiantrain.be/en/tickets-and-railcards/standard-ticket
This has links to documents in French and Dutch; the French version includes the following:

QUE PERMET MON TICKET ?
• PUIS-JE FAIRE UNE HALTE DURANT MON VOYAGE ?
Oui. Vous pouvez interrompre* votre voyage dans n’importe quelle gare* ou point d’arrêt* situé sur votre itinéraire le plus court en kilomètres, et ce, dans le sens de votre destination.

Putting this through Google Translate, I get:

WHAT DOES MY TICKET ALLOW?
• CAN I MAKE A STOP DURING MY TRIP?
Yes. You can interrupt* your journey at any station* or stopping point* located on your shortest route in kilometers, in the direction of your destination.

The asterisks are links to another document containing definitions; "interrompre" (interrupt) is defined as making a stop at an intermediate point on the journey.

The significance of the "shortest route" is that in some cases SNCB tickets can also be valid via an alternative longer route (presumably faster), but if using such an alternative route it seems that break of journey is not permitted.

 

[rvdborgt]

The significance of the "shortest route" is that in some cases SNCB tickets can also be valid via an alternative longer route (presumably faster), but if using such an alternative route it seems that break of journey is not permitted.

Except that SNCB don't give passengers any means anymore to determine what the shortest route is. My conclusion: if it looks like it might be the shortest route on a map, then it's OK.

 

[4COR]

Thanks for the replies all - I think the route from the airport to Ghent via Brussels is probably most direct, so hopefully it'll all be fine!

 

[rvdborgt]

Thanks for the replies all - I think the route from the airport to Ghent via Brussels is probably most direct, so hopefully it'll all be fine!

That won't be any problem.

 

[island]

The significance of the "shortest route" is that in some cases SNCB tickets can also be valid via an alternative longer route (presumably faster), but if using such an alternative route it seems that break of journey is not permitted.

Yes, permitted routes for SNCB/NMBS are (1) the shortest route, and (2) any route that gets you to your destination sooner than taking the shortest route. This means that the permitted routes can be different at different times of day.

It's only when you use the shortest route that you can break your journey.

My experience of SNCB/NMBS conductors is that they will apply a considerable amount of common sense.

One footnote on breaks of journey – if you were to do so at Brussels Airport Zaventem, you would have to pay the airport surcharge (Diabolo) twice.