NMBS, the Belgian railway company, has recorded an operating result of 142.2 million euros in 2023. That is a lot more than in 2022 and also more than anticipated in the business plan, the railway company says.
In 2022, NMBS still needed a contribution from the government to remain in positive figures. Due to inflation and high energy costs, they were 142.6 in the red. The government’s contribution ultimately resulted in a positive operating result of 39.6 million euros in the books.
NMBS further reduced its debt to 2.228 billion euros in 2023, compared to 2.275 billion euros at the end of 2022. By the end of the current public service contract in 2032, NMBS should reduce its debt level to 1.5 billion euros.
Passengers and measures
The railway company attributes the improvement in 2023 to returning passengers and cost control. The number of passengers was 244.6 million, an increase of 7.6 percent compared to a year earlier. School-age youth and leisure traffic in particular contributed to this increase. The number of commuting subscriptions, on the other hand, is 10 percent below the level of 2019, before corona.
The NMBS says that energy costs increased by 34 percent, but that energy-saving measures, such as heating in the buildings, limited that impact. Total energy consumption in 2023 decreased by 2 percent compared to 2022.
Investments for travelers increased by almost 10 percent last year to 852.3 million euros, NMBS adds. A large part of this went to new trains, maintenance of existing trains and the installation of a safety system.
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