Infrabel has commissioned a mural to pay tribute to the men and women who work on the network. Situated between Brussels North station and the entrance to the North-South junction, it will be seen by tens of thousands of passengers. Luc Lallemand (CEO) inaugurated the installation in the presence of the artists.
With support from the International Railways Union (UIC), which aims to promote art on the rail network, Infrabel decided to pay tribute to the men and women who work on the tracks and are passionately committed to their jobs. The 30 metre-long and two metre-high mural, by the artists Guillaume Desmarets and Frédéric Lebbe from the Farm Prod collective, is very striking! Located in Brussels North, at the exit/entrance to the North-South junction, it catches the eye of passengers aboard one of the 1,200 trains that run along this strategic axis every day.
Putting the spotlight on shadow workers
Ensuring that trains run on the rail network in total safety means that Infrabel staff have to be present in the fields at all times, summer and winter alike. Every day, men and women from a variety of backgrounds work to modernise the network and make sure the trains run efficiently. Too often, however, the passengers using our lines don’t notice their presence or their efforts and don’t realise how crucial their role is to guaranteeing safety. People are often unaware of or underestimate the technicality of these tasks, even though at this time, new technologies are emerging constantly.
The purpose of the installation is to remind us of this reality: travelling by train on a secure network requires daily intervention by our staff. These men and women are often faced with increasingly complex problems, but are always willing to work hard to maintain a high level of service!
Infrabel, an innovative company
For a long time, Infrabel has established itself as an innovative player in the rail sector, following the latest technologies. The company is undergoing a complete transformation and is becoming increasingly digitalised. In this way, it embraces the most efficient tools on the market.
In 2019, the company’s modernisation programmes have reached a steady speed and the results are becoming increasingly visible: Infrabel wins innovation awards every year! Thanks to this constant modernisation of the railway infrastructure, our high level of safety makes our network exemplary. The work of art highlights this reality: railway buffs will notice the depiction in the mural of our measuring railcar, which is capable of analysing switches at a speed of 120 km/h – this is such an impressive technology that it has now been adopted in Japan!
(Source: Infrabel)
