SNCB Holding

The SNCB group

The railways are an important part of Belgians' way of life: in 2004 more than 170 million travellers chose the train to get to work, visit other European capitals, spend their free time travelling and reach their holiday destinations. At the same time, more than 55 million tons of goods were transported by SNCB.
To achieve all of its goals and comply with European directives in the sphere of competition, SNCB has undergone a radical transformation since 1 January 2005.
A holding (called « SNCB-Holding ») was created, split up into two divisions:

  * an infrastructure manager, called Infrabel, manages everything relating to the railway infrastructure and safety and security systems.
  * a network manager - which keeps the name of « SNCB » - is responsible for everything to do with the running of passenger and freight train services.

The SNCB group consists of three companies: SNCB-Holding, Infrabel and SNCB. SNCB-Holding heads the group and oversees the SNCB and Infrabel divisions. The three companies are independent.

SNCB-Holding

SNCB-Holding is the parent company of the SNCB Group, guaranteeing an optimal quality service. It pursues this goal by coordinating and supporting the activities of its two divisions - SNCB (train services) and Infrabel (infrastructures) - and ensuring the convergence of strategies and unity of the group, in particular in order to achieve a financially balanced position.
SNCB-Holding is the sole employer of the 38,000 strong payroll of the SNCB Group. It owns station buildings, car parks and bike parking areas, bike hiring spaces and station forecourts.
It is also responsible for security and surveillance activities in the railway sphere. It manages ICT networks for the whole group and preserves the historic heritage of the railways.
It has the goal of promoting rail transport in the Belgian network, which is one of the world's densest.

Infrabel

Infrabel is a public limited company responsible for the management, upkeep, upgrading and development of the Belgian railway network.
The company is also responsible for the granting of licences and rights of use to Belgian and foreign operators. Infrabel's special shareholding set-up guarantees its complete independence.
Infrabel was created on 1 January 2005 after the demerger of the Belgian Chemins de Fer, and forms part of the SNCB Group.
The company employs 14,000 people, and generated turnover approaching 1.1 billion euro in 2006.

SNCB

SNCB is a Belgian public limited company that guarantees the running and commercialisation of national and international passenger and freight rail transport services. It is also in charge of the management of rolling stock.
SNCB employs approximately 18,300 workers, and generated turnover of 2,069 billion euro in 2006. It also has equity interests in Eurostar and Thalys, and in the IFB and TRW divisions.
SNCB plays an important role in the development of long-term mobility, offering a high quality, reliable service in step with market needs.