The Daily Commute: A Belgian Rail Saga (Or, "Why I'm Losing My Marbles, One Train Ride at a Time")

For over two years, I've been a consultant for Fodfin (the Belgian tax office – don't tell them I'm complaining!), and my weekly pilgrimage to Brussels has steadily increased. What started as a once-a-week adventure has morphed into a bi-weekly odyssey, just like for many poor souls out there.

So, the choice is simple: car or train. The train, in theory, offers the allure of productivity or pure blissful distraction – working, reading, binge-watching Netflix. Ah, the dream!

Then comes the crucial decision: which station? I have two local options. Station 1 is closer to home, but its advantages are quickly overshadowed by its glaring drawbacks: a longer journey due to it being a local stopper, and absolutely no free parking. No thank you!

So, Station 2 it is. A mere 10-minute extra drive, but it boasts the holy grail: free parking and a blessedly shorter train ride. A no-brainer, right?

I'm currently on my 22nd "multi" – that's 220 individual trips, or 110 days commuting to and from Brussels. Without any hiccups, I'm easily clocking in four hours of travel time per day. Initially, the trains were relatively well-behaved, but lately, it's been a complete and utter disaster.

I've started (unofficially, of course, because who has time for spreadsheets when you're fuming on a delayed train?) tracking my streak of train troubles. My current record? Eight out of eight! That's right, eight consecutive trips with delays – and I only count it as a delay if it's more than five minutes late. I'm practically a professional train-delay statistician at this point.

But the railway company, oh, they've got it easy. No commercial enterprise would survive this level of incompetence. They're lucky they have a monopoly and no real alternatives. Driving would also take at least two hours per trip, but without the "luxury" of working or relaxing. So, I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place, or rather, between a delayed train and a traffic jam.
Here’s a little taste of the delights I’ve experienced:

• No room on the train. (Fair enough, it happens.)
• No room on the train because they send a "mini-train" – half the usual number of carriages. (Less fair, more infuriating.)
• The train doesn't even show up! (Just… poof!)
• The train departs late. (I can't remember a single day where lost time was made up en route.)
• The train is delayed, making me more than 5 minutes late for work. (Honestly, I can't remember the last time a train was actually on time.)
• Half or more of the carriages are first class. (Because who needs standard seating when you can have empty luxury?)
• The train skips stops. (WTF indeed!)
• The train suddenly has a different final destination, before mine, due to being too far behind schedule! (Usually when delays exceed 20 minutes. Thanks for the heads-up, guys!)
• No air conditioning. (Summer fun!)
• No heating. (Winter wonderland!)
• Not strictly train-related, but still their fault because of their parking: My car was towed despite valid parking. They had simply moved the "no parking" signs!

So, yeah, it must be awesome to be a company like that. You do whatever you want, and no one can complain. Well, people can complain, but it achieves absolutely nothing. You'd think they'd offer Wi-Fi or something to incentivize people to take the train to work, but nope. According to them, it's not necessary, even with all the signal blackspots along the way.

It's a good thing my actual project is so challenging, otherwise, my motivation would have evaporated entirely by now. But we'll save the project talk for another time!

Cheers,
Peter