Violent Assaults on Transit Agents Spark Calls for Better Equipment in Belgian Stations

Two Securail agents suffered serious injuries and are on indefinite sick leave after a violent assault at Antwerp-Central station on Sunday. A video circulating online shows one individual punching a female agent in the face before attacking her colleague. The suspect was eventually apprehended by police, but not before injuring an officer during the arrest, according to the Flemish newspaper HLN.

This attack is not an isolated incident. Similar assaults were reported over the weekend at the Liège-Guillemins and Brussels-North stations. In Liège, agents caught an individual attempting to steal a bicycle. The suspect resisted arrest, allegedly trying to grab a concealed cutter before being subdued.

Securail agents have long voiced concerns about increasingly difficult working conditions and are demanding better equipment to combat rising violence in stations. "We are asking to be equipped with telescopic batons and to give more authority to dog handlers, for example, to repel an aggressive person with a dog," an agent stated anonymously. The agent also stressed the need for bodycams to identify suspects and document incidents.

However, fragmented political responsibilities hinder a swift response to these demands. Securail falls under the jurisdiction of both the Minister of Mobility and the Minister of the Interior, while bodycam procurement is managed by the SNCB railway company. Discussions regarding the legal framework for bodycams are ongoing in Parliament, with no implementation date yet set.