How much would NMBS cost today if everything had to be rebuilt from scratch?

NMBS is one of Belgium's largest companies. But what would it actually cost to rebuild the entire NMBS from scratch? TrainNews calculated the estimated replacement value of the trains, stations, repair shops, parking lots, buildings, and digital infrastructure. The result: tens of billions of euros.

Imagine this: tomorrow, everything owned by NMBS would disappear. No more trains, no more stations, no more repair shops, no more parking lots, no more offices, and no more digital systems.

How much money would it take to buy and rebuild everything?

Of course, that’s not a figure that NMBS itself lists as the official “value.” That’s why TrainNews made own estimate of the replacement value. So we’re not looking at the book value or a potential selling price, but rather at what it would cost, roughly, to rebuild the infrastructure and operational assets.

Important: All amounts in this article are estimates. They are intended to illustrate the order of magnitude and do not constitute an official valuation by NMBS.

The trains: probably the largest component

NMBS has a very large fleet. At the end of 2025, the total number of seats in its rolling stock was 350,464 seats. The fleet consists of various generations of trains and passenger cars, including the M7, M6, Desiro, AM96, and I11, as well as locomotives and diesel railcars.

A good recent example is the new generation of MR30 multiple units. At the end of 2025, NMBS ordered an initial batch of 180 new motor coaches for 1.7 billion euros, providing a total of 54,000 seats. That amounts to approximately 31,500 euros per seat.

Replacing an entire fleet with such modern trains would, of course, not cost exactly the same. Older cars, locomotives, and other types have different prices.

TrainNews therefore estimates the total replacement value of the NMBS fleet to be approximately:

€9 to €11 billion

This is one of the largest components of the calculation.

By way of comparison: in 2025 alone, NMBS invested more than 350 million euros in the renewal and renovation of its rolling stock.

555 stations

Of course, trains are only part of NMBS.

Today, NMBS operates 555 stations throughout Belgium.

And a station is much more than just a building.

Consider:

• station buildings;

• platforms;

• awnings and canopies;

• elevators;

• escalators;

• stairs;

• tunnels;

• lighting;

• information signs;

• ticket machines;

• bike racks;

• parking spaces;

• access roads;

• technical systems;

• electrical systems;

• restroom facilities.

The differences between stations are enormous. It’s impossible to compare Brussels-South or Antwerp Central with a small station building.

That is why we use an average replacement value.

For our calculation, we will use the following working hypothesis:

An average of €10 million per station

555 × €10 million = €5.55 billion

That amount is explicitly a TrainNews estimate, not an official NMBS figure.

For some large stations, €10 million would actually be far too low, while for small stations it might be too high. That is why this figure should be viewed primarily as an average.

Estimated value of stations:

± €5.5 billion

More than 200,000 parking spaces

Moreover, a station does not stand alone.

By the end of 2025, NMBS stations had 131,034 bicycle parking spaces and 75,655 parking spaces for cars. Together, that amounts to more than 206,000 parking spaces.

That infrastructure also has value.

If we estimate an average cost of several thousand euros per space for bike parking spots, shelters, secure bike parking facilities, and related infrastructure, the total quickly adds up to hundreds of millions of euros.

For parking lots, consideration must be given to paving, lighting, access roads, barriers, drainage, and the layout of the site.

Our very conservative estimate for the parking infrastructure:

± €1 billion

This, too, is an estimate and not an official SNCB figure.

Workshops and Maintenance Facilities

Of course, a train has to be maintained somewhere.

NMBS has nine traction workshops for short-term maintenance, eighteen technical maintenance stations, and two central workshops for long-term maintenance.

These include, among others:

• maintenance hangars;

• work pits;

• laundry facilities;

• lifting and hoisting equipment;

• rail infrastructure;

• technical systems;

• warehouses;

• parts warehouses;

• energy facilities;

• safety systems.

In 2025 alone, NMBS invested €89 million in the renovation and modernization of maintenance workshops.

For the complete reconstruction of the workshops and technical systems, we estimate:

± €1 billion

Offices and other buildings

In addition, NMBS owns a large amount of real estate.

Consider:

• offices;

• staff buildings;

• warehouses;

• technical buildings;

• commercial spaces;

• government buildings;

• areas;

• buildings around train stations.

In addition, NMBS has an extensive real estate portfolio, parts of which are being sold or leased. For example, NMBS’s current list of properties for sale includes both plots of land and station buildings, as well as land designated for development.

Since a complete inventory with current market prices is not publicly available, we are making a conservative overall estimate:

± €1.5 billion

Digital Infrastructure

These days, a modern railroad company is made up of more than just steel and concrete.

Among other things, NMBS has:

• the NMBS app;

• websites;

• ticket sales;

• ticket machines;

• internal IT systems;

• databases;

• digital passenger information;

• communication systems;

• cybersecurity;

• computers and servers;

• Operations and planning software.

In 2025, NMBS invested €152 million in digitization.

We estimate the total replacement value of the digital infrastructure and related equipment to be:

± €500 million

And then there are thousands of other things

Our calculation also takes into account smaller items that, when added together, amount to a significant sum.

For example:

• tools;

• maintenance equipment;

• spare parts;

• company vehicles;

• warehouse layout;

• workshop machinery;

• station furniture;

• screens;

• ticket machines;

• security systems;

• communication equipment;

• commercial furnishings.

For that, we'll charge approximately:

± €500 million

Our final calculation

If we put all the estimated parts together:

Component

Estimated replacement value

 Rolling Stock

€9–€11 billion

555 stations

± €5.5 billion

Bicycle and Car Parking Lots

± €1 billion

Workshops & Maintenance

± €1 billion

 Offices, Buildings & Properties

± €1.5 billion

 Digital Infrastructure

± €0.5 billion

 Other Business Assets

± €0.5 billion

TOTAL

± €19–€21 billion

So: about 20 billion euros

Based on this method, TrainNews estimates a estimated replacement value of approximately €20 billion for the NMBS operations and assets included in this calculation.

That doesn't mean that NMBS is "worth 20 billion euros."

That difference is important.

For example, a company may own many assets that cannot simply be sold at their original construction cost. Furthermore, trains and buildings are subject to depreciation, and some assets have a market value that is quite different from their construction cost.

So our calculation answers a different question:

"How much would it cost, roughly, to rebuild today's NMBS?"

And TrainNews's answer is:

approximately €20 billion.

What about Infrabel?

Here, the story gets even bigger.

We deliberately did not include Infrabel in our calculations.

After all, Infrabel manages Belgium's rail infrastructure, including rail lines, switches, signals, overhead lines, and a large portion of the technical rail infrastructure.

So, NMBS and Infrabel are two different companies with different responsibilities.

NMBS is primarily responsible for trains, stations, and passenger services. Infrabel manages the rail infrastructure.

The Belgian rail network consists of nearly 6,400 kilometers of rail lines and is fully equipped with ETCS.

If you also were to from scratch, including all the rails, switches, overhead lines, signals, tunnels, bridges, technical installations, and other infrastructure, the total replacement value would be many billions higher.

Conclusion

Buying a new train is expensive.

Building a station is expensive.

But rebuilding an entire railroad system is an entirely different matter.

Our calculation comes to approximately €20 billion, with a wide margin of uncertainty because up-to-date individual replacement costs are not publicly available for a large portion of the assets.

And that is why TrainNews emphasizes once again:

This is an independent estimate by TrainNews and not an official rating by NMBS.

The official figures from NMBS do show just how large the company is: in 2025, it carried approximately 208 million domestic passengersand had nearly 17,000 employees , and invested €820 million in a single year.

This calculation was prepared using artificial intelligence (AI) based on publicly available information and is intended solely as an indicative estimate. It does not constitute an official valuation by NMBS.