BELGIAN railway workers union ACOD/CGSP brought the country to a grinding halt today in protest at staff shortages.

Both the Thalys network, which travels between Belgium, France and Germany, and Eurostar, which links to Britain, were disrupted.

Passengers wishing to travel to Britain would have to find their way to Lille where all Brussels-bound trains were terminating.

Belgian national railways reported virtually no passenger service in the country’s French-speaking Wallonia region, and “very limited” service in Dutch-speaking Flanders.

The union explained on Friday that its members would take action because the network is so understaffed that workers are unable to take days off.

Rail company SNCB accused the union of “damaging the image of SNCB by striking. They are sabotaging their own business.”

France’s rail network was hit by a crippling week of industrial action earlier this month, with up to two-thirds of high-speed trains cancelled at the peak of the week-long strike.