Changes to timetables and opening hours during the long weekend
Today is the Feast of the Ascension, a public holiday in Belgium. Many people will also be off work tomorrow (Friday) as they take what is know here as a “bridge day” a day off between a public holiday and a weekend, so that they will be off work for four consecutive days. Some services such as public transport, banks and local town halls have revised timetables or opening hours.
The railways
A Sunday service is running today (Thursday) on Belgian Railways (NMBS). On Friday revised timetable will be in place and some “P Train” commuter services won’t be running. 50% of the S5 trains between Mechelen and Geraardsbergen won’t be running either on Friday 19 May. Ticket offices in stations will be open the same hours as on a Sunday both today and tomorrow.
De Lijn
Services provided by the Flemish public transport company De Lijn will be running according to a Sunday service today (Thursday). Tomorrow (Friday) they will run to their normal weekday timetable.
Town Halls and local services
Many Town Halls and other local service will be open as normal on Friday. Of course services that operate 24/7 such as the police, care homes, fire service,… are operational on Thursday and Friday as they would be on any other day. The Flemish Association of City and Municipal Authorities (VVSG) advises us to consult our local authority's website to check whether a particular service is open or not.
Banks and post offices
The banking federation Febelfin reports that banks will remain closed throughout the whole of the long weekend. Meanwhile, the Belgian post office Bpost says that it will be business as usual tomorrow with post offices open and deliveries made on Friday.