Will the trains be running in Belgium on Easter Sunday
 

My friend and I will be vacationing in Belgium over Easter weekend (Brussels, Bruges, Gent, etc). I am having trouble finding rail times/schedules on Easter Sunday. Will the trains be running on a holiday? Or would it be smarter to just rent a car?

Thanks!

~Rachel

Yes the trains will be running - just check the Belgian railways website http://www.b-rail.be/main/E/. We were in Bruges last Easter and had no problems at all with the trains. Driving a car in Brussels or Bruges is a PIA. If you're only visiting Bruges, Ghent, Brussels etc save yourself the trouble and take the train.

I don't know of any place that shuts down trains on holidays in Europe (or anywhere, for that matter). The only country I've heard of doing something odd like that is London, where they shut down the tube on Christmas or something like that. I don't think even they shut down the national rail system, though.

Yes, the trains will be running. You should check for rail schedules about 90 days in advance. The train schedules aren't shown in the system for travel more than 90 days from today in most cases. I wouldn't hire a car based on the cities you plan on visiting, they are all easy to get to by train. I have travelled on Belgian trains during a national holiday (not Easter) and the trains were very crowded. I can't advise you if this will be a crowded train ride during Easter, hopefully other fodorites will know and chime in.

Christina - (to go off-topic for a moment), the national rail network in the UK does shut down on 25-26 December every year.

Justshootme - the on-line timetable including the Easter dates is already there for all to see on the link I provided.

Thanks everyone. This is really helpful!!!