Belgium Braces for Weekend Rail Disruptions

Travellers across Belgium face widespread rail disruption this weekend as Infrabel, the country’s rail infrastructure manager, carries out track works on multiple lines, forcing SNCB to replace trains with buses and adjust schedules on dozens of routes. The largest impact falls on the Charleroi-Central to Namur line, where the national operator is replacing all IC Mouscron-Namur-Liers trains with buses on Saturday and Sunday, according to RTBF.

A Heavy Weekend of Works

Infrabel deliberately concentrates major maintenance on weekends, when commuter volumes are lower, but the result is that weekend travellers routinely meet bus replacements and retimed services. This weekend’s programme is part of a broader autumn 2026 schedule that stretches into late October.

According to L’Avenir, whose province-by-province breakdown maps the affected corridors, the Charleroi-Namur disruption is the most significant of the weekend. The relation serves Tournai, Mons, Charleroi, Namur and Liege, and departure times change for the rest of the route as well.

The Main Affected Lines

Several routes stand out for the scale of their disruption:

Charleroi-Central to Namur: All IC Mouscron-Namur-Liers trains are replaced by buses between the two cities, with adjusted departure times on the remainder of the route.
S61 Wavre-Charleroi-Central-Jambes: Buses replace trains between Chatelet and Moustier on both days.
S63 Charleroi-Maubeuge (France): All S63 trains are replaced by buses along the entire Charleroi-Central to Thuin to Maubeuge route.
Liege-Guillemins to Maastricht (Netherlands): No trains run, with buses in place every weekend until 25 October inclusive.
Verviers-Central to Spa: Buses replace trains on 26 and 27 September, and the Spa-Geronstere stop will not be served.
Braine-le-Comte to La Louviere: Major disruption, with most trains replaced by buses between Braine-le-Comte and La Louviere-Sud.

Schedule Changes Across the Network

Not every affected service is replaced outright. Many routes are simply retimed. Around Namur and Jambes, departure times change for some IC Brussels-Midi-Namur-Dinant trains, and the S61 route is modified. Further south, most L Namur-Dinant-Libramont trains have adjusted departure times, while weekday adaptations continue on the Libramont-Arlon corridor until 2 October.

In the Liege region, works around Liege-Guillemins modify the route and departure times of certain S41 Liege-Saint-Lambert-Verviers-Central-Aix-la-Chapelle trains on Saturday only, and S44 Landen-Liege-Guillemins times also change. The Verviers-Welkenraedt works, ongoing daily until 4 October, affect routing and timings for the IC Ostend-Brussels-Eupen, IC Kortrijk-Brussels-Welkenraedt and S41 services.

Cross-border travel is affected too. Due to works on the Luxembourg network, the route and departure times of IC Liers/Liege-Guillemins-Gouvy-Luxembourg trains are adapted this weekend, and CFL buses run between Troisvierges and Luxembourg.

On Saturday only, three relations between Brussels and Charleroi see changed departure times: the IC Antwerp-Central-Brussels-Central-Charleroi-Central, the S1 Antwerp-Central-Brussels-Central-Nivelles and the S19 Landen-Brussels-Luxembourg-Nivelles.

How to Plan Ahead

Both Infrabel and SNCB urge travellers to check the SNCB travel planner on its website or app before setting out, since all adjustments, including where to catch replacement buses, are already listed there. The operator also warns that bus journeys can sometimes take longer than the originally planned train trip, depending on road traffic.

“Before heading to the station, travellers are advised to consult the travel planner on the SNCB website or app,” the RTBF guidance notes, adding that all adjustments, including bus pickup points, are already loaded.

What to Watch for Next

The disruption is not confined to this weekend. According to L’Avenir, several of these arrangements extend well beyond Sunday, from the Liège-Maastricht buses that run each weekend until 25 October to the Verviers-Welkenraedt works that continue daily until 4 October. The same weekend also brings road disruption, with the Quatre Bras tunnel on the Brussels Ring closed throughout, a reminder that Belgium’s mobility squeeze is affecting road and rail simultaneously.

For now, passengers on the affected lines should plan extra time, confirm their connections in the SNCB app, and expect buses where trains normally run.