A plan to get Belgium’s tourism industry restarted with local travelers is proving incredibly popular; within 24 hours, over half a million people applied for a 12-trip six-month free rail pass.
The Hello Belgium Rail Pass, which allows one round-trip a month for six months is available online through the end of the month. Railroad administrators have pledged to get the passes in the mail within 8 to 10 days; they become valid October 5. Unlike most modern rail tickets, these are paper only.
The program was planned for June, but was twice postponed, until the end of summer to avoid overcrowding trains and possibly causing public health issues.