Belgium’s Rail Liberalization: What Can Europe Teach Us?

On July 18, 2026, the Belgian federal government gave its green light for rail liberalization starting in 2033, meaning the SNCB could no longer be the only railway company operating passenger trains. As Belgium prepares for this historic shift, experts are examining what can be learned from other European countries that have already opened their rail markets to competition. The analysis, published by RTBF, looks at both successes and challenges from across the continent.

The European Framework

The liberalization of rail in Europe has been a gradual process since the 1990s, driven by successive EU legislative packages. The objective is to replace state monopolies with competitive markets, following the pattern of liberalization in other sectors such as postal services, energy, and telecommunications. For rail, this has already led to the separation between infrastructure managers (Infrabel in Belgium) and transport operators (SNCB in Belgium).

Two types of competition exist: “Open access,” where any accredited railway company can request use of Infrabel’s infrastructure for a fee, and “PSO” (Public Service Obligations), where public service contracts are awarded through public tenders. Belgium is targeting the PSO model for the end of 2032, which represents the core of the European project: eliminating the state monopoly while ensuring public service through public procurement.

According to François-Xavier Lievens, a researcher in law at UCLouvain and specialist in railway market liberalization, the Belgian government will likely favor multiple packages of different lines rather than a single contract for the whole country, through a phased process. EU law requires states to have a transport organizing authority when opening to competition, giving the state real control over what the public service does through contractual obligations.

Will Competition Lower Fares?

One of the most pressing questions for passengers is whether liberalization will lead to cheaper tickets. “One cannot say that at the European level, competition lowers fares,” Lievens told RTBF. Price reductions are possible on high-speed lines such as Brussels-Paris or Brussels-Amsterdam, but Belgium has no domestic TGV. For local public service, there is no correlation between competition and lower prices.

However, the state can act on tariffs if it wishes by specifying them in the public service contract. Lievens points to Luxembourg, where the government made trains free: “It’s not a question of competition, it’s just a question of public intention.”

“At constant public cost, when it’s possible to make savings and gain efficiency, it’s not so much the fares that will be lowered, but the service that will increase,” Lievens added.

A 2026 study by the French transport regulator (ART) found that “passengers are the first beneficiaries of market opening,” with increased supply, improved service quality, and competitive pressure favorable to price control. On the Paris-Lyon axis, frequency increased by 20% between 2019 and 2024, while average prices fell by more than 10%.

Lessons from European Neighbors

Germany: The Regionalization Model

Germany opted for regionalization of public service obligations in the 1990s, with the Länder (regions) responsible for awarding public service contracts for regional trains. The European model is essentially a copy-paste of the German model. There are now 250 different passenger transport companies, though Deutsche Bahn remains 100% state-owned and still handles about 60% of public service obligations.

Netherlands: A Hybrid Approach

The Dutch kept NS, the national company, as the monopoly operator on major profitable axes (Randstad, Amsterdam, The Hague, Rotterdam, Utrecht), while smaller lines in the east are managed by provinces and awarded to foreign subsidiaries such as Keolis for SNCF and Arriva for Deutsche Bahn. However, the European Commission has initiated proceedings before the CJEU against the direct attribution to the national company.

France: Recent Opening

France recently opened to competition with a model close to Germany’s, with regions competent to award public service contracts. Some lines have been won by competitors, but most by SNCF. High-speed national lines (TGV) operate on an open market model. The French ART study identified three challenges: maintaining coherence in a multi-actor system, responding to growing demand while preserving sustainable competition, and completing the system’s adaptation to an open environment.

United Kingdom: A Cautionary Tale

The UK is a special case - the country did not liberalize but privatized in the 1990s. According to Lievens, “It’s a failure.” The UK privatized without real control of public service obligations; private operators reduced costs to maximize profits, limiting rail maintenance and leading to accidents. The state had to renationalize the network less than 10 years after privatization. As RTBF reported, the UK did “somewhat the opposite of the European framework. The EU does not impose privatization, but a management model.”

Liberalization vs. Privatization

A key distinction that experts emphasize is that liberalization does not mean privatization. “Opening railway service operations to competition does not necessarily imply privatization,” Lievens noted. “The EU does not impose privatization, but a management model.” No EU country has fully privatized its national railway company.

In fact, as La Libre reported, the EU gives states considerable leeway in implementing competition opening. “The EU gives states a lot of leeway in implementing competition opening,” Lievens said, and it is possible to open to competition while maintaining the cheminot status.

Worker Concerns and Social Challenges

Rail unions have expressed significant concerns about the liberalization process. “There is a great risk that potential productivity gains linked to competition will be made at the expense of workers rather than on transport organization,” Lievens warned. “Harmonization of social rules between SNCB and its competitors is necessary, probably through the creation of a joint committee for the railway sector.”

Marianne Lerouge, a CSC-Transcom rail union representative, told Alter Echos that “the price of liberalization is paid by SNCB workers. It’s a public company, but it’s increasingly managed like a private one.” About 88% of SNCB’s roughly 27,000 employees currently hold permanent (statutory) positions, but the company is now recruiting only contract employees.

The Brussels Bottleneck

The North-South junction in Brussels is described as “the most congested railway tunnel in the world,” already causing structural delays even with only two companies to coordinate (SNCB and Infrabel). Lievens noted that “if a single market is awarded for all of Belgium, there’s a good chance the SNCB will win it,” given the complexity of managing the entire Belgian network.

Looking Ahead to 2033

The SNCB’s management contract runs until December 2032, coinciding with the EU deadline for full liberalization of domestic passenger rail services. The SNCB carried 207.8 million passengers in 2025, with a target of 30% growth by 2032. As newmobility.news noted on the company’s 100th anniversary, the railway company will have to fight to maintain its current position when the market opens.

The coming years will be critical as Belgium navigates the transition from a state monopoly to a competitive market. The experience of other European countries suggests that liberalization can bring benefits in terms of service quality and efficiency, but also carries risks related to coordination, worker conditions, and fare levels. As the French ART concluded, “market opening is not the cause of the French railway system’s imbalances: it reveals them.”

For Belgium, the challenge will be to learn from these European experiences and design a liberalization framework that preserves the quality of public service while introducing the benefits of competition. The state’s role will be crucial - through the contracts it negotiates, the tariffs it sets, and the coordination it ensures across a network that remains one of the densest in the world.