One challenge is that the Belgian rail notifications are either in Dutch or French, making it difficult for me to understand sudden updates on the location or schedule of trains. I recently faced this situation a couple weekends ago when I visited Bruges and found that all trains were suspended because of a severe windstorm. Luckily, I was waiting in front of the rail line that the train to Brussels arrived on and I was able to hop onto the crowded carts home. I have also learned about how they change the price of tickets based on the time of week. They provide discounts for traveling on the weekend as an example. They also sell ten trip bundles allowing people to skip the line and immediately enter the trains at a lower rate than buying each one separately.
Using railway transportation is connected to European culture because it reflects the open border policy between European Union members by demonstrating the ability to travel through dozens of countries on trains without border stops. It also demonstrates how much Europeans prioritize climate policy as they have made cars expensive due to taxes on cars and fuel, encouraging everyone share rides through the emission-controlled trains.
