A royal decree determines the composition of the Railway Freight Advisory Committee

The Belgian Official Gazette (Moniteur belge) of November 12, 2026, publishes, under reference C − 2026/008088 (pages 59998 to 60000), the royal decree of October 27, 2026, regulating the composition and operation of the Rail Freight Advisory Committee. Signed in Brussels by King Philippe and countersigned by the Minister of Mobility J.-L. Crucke, the text establishes the advisory body provided for by the law of November 10, 2025, and brings it into force, as with that law, on November 1, 2026.

An advisory body created by the law of November 10, 2025

The decree is based on Articles 3, §§ 3 and 5, and 5 of the law of November 10, 2025, establishing the Rail Freight Advisory Committee. It was developed after consultation with the regional governments and following opinion 79.819/2/V of the Council of State, issued on August 27, 2026. The committee, referred to in the text as the “Freight Committee,” is composed in a way that reflects the entire logistics chain.

Thirty-one seats divided into four categories

The composition is set out in Article 2 and is distributed as follows:

• a president and a vice-president;
• fourteen members representative of direct or indirect users of freight transport services, including at least four representatives of shippers, two representatives of multimodal platforms, and three representatives of ports, among whom at least one seaport and one river port;
• six members representative of transport service providers, including four representatives of railway undertakings designated by the federation of railway undertakings and one representative of locomotive and/or wagon owners;
• nine other members with a link to rail freight: one member of a Hub (Pôle) dedicated to transport and logistics, one representative of environmental NGOs, one member of the strategic cell of the Minister of Mobility, one member of the strategic cell of the Minister of Public Enterprises, the head of the FPS Mobility and Transport or their delegate, the head of the infrastructure manager or their delegate, the head of the Federal Transport Regulation Agency or their delegate, the head of the Railway Safety and Interoperability Service or their delegate, and one representative of road operators.

Added to this are a linguistic requirement—at least eight Dutch-speaking members and eight French-speaking members, with one German-speaking representative potentially included among the latter—and a distribution between members with deliberative votes and members with consultative votes. Regional governments are invited to meetings with a consultative vote, subject to eight days’ notice.

Appointment, quorum, and budget of 12,500 euros

The Minister of Mobility appoints and removes members for a renewable term of five years, with one substitute per effective member; candidates are designated following a public call published in the Belgian Official Gazette. The chairperson is chosen by the minister based on their motivation and knowledge of rail freight transport, while the vice-chairperson is elected by a majority of deliberative votes from a different linguistic group. The FPS Mobility and Transport provides the secretariat.

The committee meets at least twice a year in a plenary session, with notices sent eight days in advance. The quorum is two-thirds of the deliberative members to adopt or amend the internal rules of procedure and one-third to approve opinions; in the absence of a quorum, the following meeting requires none. Article 8 provides 12,500 euros per year for operating costs, charged to the operating credits of the FPS Mobility and Transport.

Public opinions

In accordance with Article 3, § 7, of the law, the adopted opinions are posted online on the FPS Mobility and Transport website and transmitted to the minister or the institution that requested them, as well as to any person or institution deemed concerned. The internal rules of procedure, established by the committee, must be approved by ministerial decree and contain, at a minimum, ethical rules and the conditions under which a member is deemed to have resigned.

Impact on the sector

With this text, Belgian rail freight now has an official consultative body where shippers, ports, multimodal platforms, operators, the infrastructure manager, the regulator, and environmental NGOs sit around the same table, chaired by a person designated by the Minister of Mobility. For logistics and rail stakeholders, the immediate focus shifts to the application procedure and the first internal rules of procedure, which will determine the pace and actual weight of the opinions issued starting from the current financial year.

Source: Belgian Official Gazette No. 2026/11/12, November 12, 2026, royal decree of October 27, 2026, reference C − 2026/008088, p. 59998-60000.