Because many staff are absent due to illness or quarantine, the NMBS is forced to temporarily adjust the train offer from 26 January. In Vorst, the Audi factory will be shut down for a week due to the major loss of personnel.
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“Due to the evolution of the pandemic, NMBS is currently confronted with employees who are absent due to illness or who are quarantined at home,” the railway company said. As a result, the train offer will be temporarily adjusted from 26 January: almost seven percent of the train offer will be cancelled.
For example, fewer trains will run between Antwerp and Brussels from Wednesday on weekdays. Only one in two IC trains (Antwerp Central – Mechelen – Brussels South) per hour. There will be three IC trains per hour between Antwerp and Brussels. The fully adapted timetable can be found here.
Audi factory shut down
Other sectors are also plagued by the high failure rate due to corona infections. The Audi factory in Forest will be shut down for the entire week. That happened once in November. The factory, with around 3,000 employees, is expected to restart next week and gradually ramp up.
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