swamom

If you are going to be in the Brussels train station, a word of warning! Do not take your hands off your luggage, and keep all papers, money, passport...on your body in a purse or bag across your body. We were there, June 25th, when 2 kids distracted my husband and a third one ran by, grabbed the rolling bag with a tote attached and was gone. While we were in the police office, two other people came in with the exact same story-.
The police comment -"It happens all the time".
We decided not to stay in Brussels but continue on to London, which we did and had a great time.
I hope I can save another person from this disheartening crime.

P_M

I'm sorry this happened to you. This is good advice when traveling through any busy train station because unfortunately it can happen anywhere. It's a shame you missed Brussels, but I'm glad you had a great time in London and you didn't let this ruin your trip.

swamom

You're right about being careful in any train station, but we had traveled by train from Stockholm, thru Copenhagen, Bremen, Cologne and no threats whatsoever.
I think what makes you more vulnerable in Brussels is the flat escalators that move from floor to floor. It is sooo easy to pull the bags up or down very quickly.
A train employee said they go up, then down to the subway and are gone.

nytraveler

Your loss is unfortunate- but frankly - those are rules everyone should be following in every train station, airport - in fact anywhere - all over the world.

It sometimes amazes me the things people do with their belongings. I was in LGA recently and some woman put her carryon on a seat and walked off (ladies room? concession stand?).

A few minutes later a security person saw it - asked who it belonged to - no one claimed it and she started to take it away. You should have heard the shrieking when the idiot came back and saw it being removed. (Her point was as long as you've gone through security you can do whatever you want with your bag.

Security took her into an office and made her unpack the entire bag so everything could be checked out. (The idiot complained about this for the next 20 minutes.)

Wouldn;t she be a fun traveling companion???)

janis

"Do not take your hands off your luggage, and keep all papers, money, passport...on your body in a purse or bag across your body" -- don't mean to be rude -- but, duh!

This applies to everywhere - not just Brussels. It is merely common sense . . . . .

BTilke

FWIW, businessmen are as much a target as tourists on trains passing through Brussels. One of the more recent dodges is for a very well dressed couple to enter a first class car, sit down, then just before the train leaves, the woman asks someone if this is the train to XXX. The answer is inevitably no, you are on the train to YYY. At which point, the woman jumps up, shrieks, Oh no, we're on the wrong train, let's go. Big show of rushing to gather her things and the couple dash off the train seconds before the doors shut. But while the woman is making a scene, her "husband" is deftly stealing the briefcase or computer bags of their "mark" from the overhead shelf. (A lot of businessmen travel as if they have some kind of security shield around them--they come onto the train, throw their stuff on the top shelf, open up the newspaper and make a point of NOT looking around. Easiest marks for this dodge in Brussels are execs/bureaucrats who come from countries like Switzerland where theft on trains is rare.)
Although your chances of being a crime victim in Brussels on any given day are quite low, be advised that that the city is a hotbed of organized crime along with all the usual wayward activities.
If you want an eye opener, pick up a copy of La Derniere Heure and read all the crime/scandal stories. For such a small country, a lot of truly weird stuff goes on.
(A while back I posted my own personal crime history of Brussels...one mugging, a pickpocketing, various car breakins, one attempted shooting...despite all that I really like the city and would enjoy living there again)