Passengers will now be able to see in the NMBS / SNCB app which zones – marked by signs – each carriage will stop at.
Travellers sometimes need to walk along the platform to reach a specific carriage, such as those with limited mobility, cyclists, first-class passengers, or groups with reserved seats.
To make boarding easier, improve passenger comfort, and enhance the overall train journey, NMBS / SNCB is now providing better information. This could also help punctuality, as delays can occur if passengers struggle to board.
To help passengers prepare for boarding and streamline the process, NMBS / SNCB has introduced boarding zones on platforms. As a pilot project, signs indicating different boarding zones (A, B, C, D, etc.) were installed at Brussels-Central Railway Station.
Since last September, carriage positions have been available in the ‘Lab app’, a test app launched by NMBS / SNCB to assess the effectiveness of this information, gather passenger feedback, and continuously improve services. The response has been overwhelmingly positive from both commuters and leisure travellers.
Boarding zones are now also available at Halle and Brussels Airport-Zaventem stations, with plans to expand to other stations soon.
Passengers can now see in the app where carriages will stop on the platform, and this information will soon be displayed on platform screens as well. In the app, this feature is found under the ‘Train composition’ tab when viewing journey details. For example, a passenger with limited mobility can check in advance where the accessible carriage will stop. If it is in zone B, they can wait there for the train to arrive, making boarding quicker. The same applies to cyclists.
The aim is to roll out the concept to other stations, including Namur, Charleroi-Central, Brussels-South, Brussels-North, Brussels-Schuman, Brussels-Luxembourg, Bruges, Antwerp-Central Railway Station on the platforms of level -2), Leuven, and Ghent St Peter’s.
New features and updates in the app
The NMBS / SNCB app also includes other new features. Passengers can now see the direction in which the train will depart. When viewing the train composition, the train is displayed in the correct direction, with carriages numbered (carriage 1, 2, 3, etc.), where number 1 is the leading carriage.
Additional improvements have been made: the transfer time is now explicitly shown in the journey planner, and if there are disruptions, route changes are displayed much more clearly.
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