A position that resonates with others, because behind the scenes, some people are wondering. And for good reason: in 2021, Sowaer, which manages Walloon airports, commissioned a study from the Stratec office on the prospects for bringing airports closer to rail. Its conclusions, revealed in 2023 to the Walloon Parliament by the current Minister-President Adrien Dolimont (MR), were unequivocal: rail service would be complicated due to the excellent motorway service, the dispersion of customers and the configuration of the rail network, which is relatively remote.
BSCA not consulted…
As for Charleroi airport, we learned the news… by reading the press. “We were not consulted. But we are not against the idea and we are open to discussions.”specifies Nathalie Pierard, spokesperson for BSCA. “Today, Flibco company shuttle buses connect the airport to 18 cities. And the terminal is indirectly connected with TEC buses to the SNCB stations of Luttre, Fleurus and Charleroi-Central. But one of the difficulties linked to the train is the time factor. As many flights are scheduled during morning and evening rush hours, you need to be able to arrive very early or leave very late.”
For his part, the current Deputy Prime Minister in charge of Mobility, Georges Gilkinet (Ecolo), raised the subject in the House when he was questioned about the Carrefour Léonard. What does he fear? A return of expensive and useless work. “Making SNCB a budgetary adjustment variable again and calling into question the trajectory that we had negotiated with it will be a catastrophe for mobility, just as this idea, coming out of nowhere, of building a new station at the airport would be an aberration. of Charleroi”he said to the deputies.
-gullIt is not possible to add additional investments… Unless, like Didier Reynders, they won the Lotto
For the Minister of Mobility, it would be, like the Mons station, a project “expensive and absolutely not a priority” : “I don’t know which engineer or poet asked this.”he explains to us. “We have a 2040 vision for rail. We have a performance contract for Infrabel, widely agreed upon, including with the Regions, and a multi-year investment plan where priorities have been set. We are finally setting a course by avoiding unnecessary waste. Here, without prior study, we decide to do something. If they put such a point in their agreement, they will lose five years and suspend the programming of more useful investments. Because it is not possible to add additional investments… unless, like Didier Reynders, they won the Lotto.”
