Belgium’s rail infrastructure manager Infrabel confirmed on 27 October 2025 that extensive track-replacement works on the approaches to Brussels-Airport Zaventem station will run from 15 November to 9 December. During the four-week project engineers will renew five switches, 800 metres of rail and a concrete slab that supports critical junctions on the airport branch.
SNCB/NMBS warns that several InterCity and S-train lines—including IC Knokke-Brussels-Liège, IC Tournai-Brussels-Airport and Eurocity services to Rotterdam—will either skip the airport stop or operate on amended timetables. Weekend pre-works on 8-9 November and finishing works on 13-14 December will cause additional ad-hoc changes. Travellers with air-rail through-tickets can use De Lijn buses R26 and 82 as free rail-replacement shuttles, running up to ten times per hour on weekdays.
The timing overlaps with the year-end peak for expatriate home-leave travel and EU institution missions. Corporate mobility teams should flag the disruption in pre-trip advisories, extend minimum connection times for rail-to-air transfers and encourage use of taxi-voucher or car-share programmes for critical departures.
Airlines with high proportions of rail-to-flight feeder traffic—such as Brussels Airlines, TUI fly and Emirates—may see lower load factors or increased no-shows; revenue-management teams are expected to deploy short-term fare promotions to compensate. Forwarders reliant on belly-hold cargo will also need to adjust truck-dock timings, as night-time access to the airport rail spur will be shut.
The project is the second phase of a multi-year upgrade to improve speed and capacity on Belgium’s busiest airport line, and it forms part of the government’s 2030 Climate Plan to shift 50 % of airport access journeys to public transport.
SNCB/NMBS warns that several InterCity and S-train lines—including IC Knokke-Brussels-Liège, IC Tournai-Brussels-Airport and Eurocity services to Rotterdam—will either skip the airport stop or operate on amended timetables. Weekend pre-works on 8-9 November and finishing works on 13-14 December will cause additional ad-hoc changes. Travellers with air-rail through-tickets can use De Lijn buses R26 and 82 as free rail-replacement shuttles, running up to ten times per hour on weekdays.
The timing overlaps with the year-end peak for expatriate home-leave travel and EU institution missions. Corporate mobility teams should flag the disruption in pre-trip advisories, extend minimum connection times for rail-to-air transfers and encourage use of taxi-voucher or car-share programmes for critical departures.
Airlines with high proportions of rail-to-flight feeder traffic—such as Brussels Airlines, TUI fly and Emirates—may see lower load factors or increased no-shows; revenue-management teams are expected to deploy short-term fare promotions to compensate. Forwarders reliant on belly-hold cargo will also need to adjust truck-dock timings, as night-time access to the airport rail spur will be shut.
The project is the second phase of a multi-year upgrade to improve speed and capacity on Belgium’s busiest airport line, and it forms part of the government’s 2030 Climate Plan to shift 50 % of airport access journeys to public transport.
