Belgium is looking to establish a scheme that will force international passengers to give personal information before they travel on certain forms of transport — an idea aimed at improving security in the wake of terrorist attacks in Brussels and Paris.
On 10 November, MPs on the Belgian parliament’s Terror Committee voted (by 10 votes to two) to introduce a Passenger Name Records (PNR) system covering land-passenger transport modes, and the proposal will be considered by all MPs at the end of the month.
Travel operators are watching closely, as the idea could hamper international travel through one of Europe’s crucial transit hubs and prove costly to implement.
“It really depends on how policies are designed,” one senior rail manager said. “If we are obligated to systematically gather information on everyone 24hr before the train leaves and then verify it on-board, that could have a wide effect on the business.”
While no other EU countries are following Belgium’s example, there is a growing desire to tighten up travelling security.
An EU directive already mandates PNR in aviation, and the subject of security at airports, railway stations and bus terminals is on the agenda for a December meeting of EC transport ministers.