Antwerp (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – Antwerp mayor Els van Doesburg (N-VA) urges Interior Minister Bernard Quintin (MR) to provide more police at Antwerp Central Station, citing staff shortages (only 1 in 4 posts filled) and safety risks.
As VRT News reported, Antwerp’s acting mayor Els van Doesburg (N-VA) has called for urgent federal support to address security problems at Antwerp Central Station. She wrote to Interior Minister Bernard Quintin (MR) demanding more police officers on site.
The mayor warned that the railway police are operating with few staff, leaving one of Belgium’s busiest stations exposed to rising problems. Security at the station is currently shared between Securail and the federal railway police, but Van Doesburg said the shortage of trained officers weakens public order.
“The current situation is very worrying for safety in and around the station.”
Els van Doesburg (N-VA), mayor
What is driving Antwerp Central Station’s safety concerns amid police shortages?
In a letter to Federal Minister Bernard Quintin, she reports that travellers, visitors, and local businesses are alarmed about the ongoing nuisance around the station. Concerns have also been raised by Antwerp Zoo, the hospitality sector, and small shops in the area. Van Doesburg states that if no action is taken, the station risks gaining a reputation as unsafe, particularly during the evening hours.
“The current situation is very worrying for the general safety and quality of life in and around Antwerp Central Station,”
Says Van Doesburg.
The mayor links the issue to a shortage of railway police in Antwerp. Current figures show that only 1 in 4 posts is filled. Evening and night shifts have reportedly been left vacant for over a year, leaving no police presence at the station after 10 p.m. Railway patrols in the district are only possible from time to time because of limited staff.
Van Doesburg explains that Antwerp’s local police are already extra alert in the neighbourhood, but they cannot legally take over the full duties of the railway police. She is calling for immediate reinforcements, both at the station and on the premetro network, to guarantee safety for commuters, visitors, and local businesses.
In her letter, Van Doesburg listed the issues that have become a growing concern. She pointed to daily scenes of illegal dumping, littering, and public urination. She noted increasing drug use and the presence of discarded drug materials in public spaces. The mayor also highlighted the rise in homeless people and addicts in and around the station, saying this has created a climate of insecurity for passengers and staff.
Van Doesburg further warned about cyclists and e-scooter users speeding through corridors and galleries, putting pedestrians at risk. She said these combined problems require immediate federal intervention to strengthen police presence and ensure safety at the city’s main railway station.
Antwerp Central Station was first opened in 1905. Moreover, it is one of the busiest transport hubs in Belgium, with over 60,000 departing and arriving passengers each day. The station is under security provision by Securail, the in-house security service of the national railway company SNCB/NMBS, and by the federal railway police, which is responsible for law and order enforcement at the stations and on board the trains across the rail network in Belgium.
There has been a staffing shortage in the railway police for several years, but it has been a worsening concern since 2023, when the recruitment delays and the wave of retirements left the vacancies much closer to unfilled than at other stations.
By 2024, trade unions were already sounding the alarm, reporting that evening duties at Antwerp Central often went uncovered. The letter sent in September 2025 by Mayor Els van Doesburg to Interior Minister Bernard Quintin represents the latest in a series of appeals for reinforcements, aimed at preventing further decline in safety at and around the station.
