22/10/2019
Sophie Dutordoir, CEO of SNCB, and Arnaud Feist, CEO of Brussels Airport Company, in the presence of the Minister François Bellot, today officially opened a direct access from the Brussels Airport-Zaventem station to the Brussels Airport Business District. This access will shorten the journey times for thousands of daily commuters who work in one of the many businesses located on the site.
The train is the perfect means of transport to travelling to the airport, in terms of mobility, safety, speed as well as comfort. Brussels Airport is more than just an airport: it’s home to over 300 companies and close to 24,000 staff, around 10% of whom commute by train. SNCB and Brussels Airport set out to shorten the commute for these employees by creating a direct access from the Brussels Airport station to the Business District. This new access separates the airport passenger flow from the commuter flow. This alternative exit, efficient and secure, and reserved for the exclusive use of staff, will shorten their journey time by 10–20 minutes.
According to Sophie Dutordoir, CEO of SNCB: “Brussels Airport is a major destination, in particular in terms of passenger numbers. During the week, SNCB operates 330 trains a day to and from the airport, linking the airport with all major cities, and Amsterdam. Trains to Brussels city centre run every 7 minutes 30, with a journey time of 16 minutes. Currently over 25% of travellers opt to travel to the airport by train. In absolute terms, that represents 5 million travellers in 2018, and this year, we expect this to increase to 5.3 million. This is a growth of more than 20% since 2015. The airport is also a major destination for the staff employed by the 300 businesses on site. We’ve opened up this new access to separate passenger and commuter flows, and shorten employees’ journey times to their workplace.”
Says Arnaud Feist, CEO of Brussels Airport Company: “The Brussels Airport Business District has undergone continual growth in recent years, which has led to a significant increase in the number of employees working at the airport site. This new access will considerably improve staff commutes, in particular by reducing their journey time, making the train one of the commuters’ preferred means of transport, chosen by 10% of the employees who work at Brussels Airport.”
A proactive B2B approach
To encourage businesses and staff, including those situated at the Brussels Airport Business District, to commute by train, SNCB has developed a special package for its B2B customers and is offering tailored travel advice.
For example, the Business Portal platform enables companies to purchase tickets online, to check existing purchases, to view invoices, to view staff season tickets, to consult all contracts, etc. Over 8,200 businesses are currently active on the portal, which attracts over 20,000 users a month and registers over 150 new contracts a month. SNCB’s “Mobility Pack” offers its B2B customers an all-in-one SNCB product encompassing all services: season tickets, parking, train–car combined journeys and e-ticketing for occasional trips, or international travel.