Belgian rail unions call for strike on Feb 15

Passengers wait on a platform at Brussels station during a rail workers strike in Brussels December 21, 2011.

12:08 04Feb12 -

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Belgian rail unions has called a strike on February 15 in protest at planned savings measures carried out by rail operator SNCB.

It would be the third such rail stoppage in three months after a public sector strike in December and a general strike last week, both in protest at the new government's austerity measures.

ACV-Transcom union official Luc Piens said on Saturday that the strike could be averted if SNCB agreed to talk about planned measures, instead of just announcing them.

Rail strikes typically knock out the entire network and also halt high-speed international services into and out of Belgium, such as the Eurostar from London, Thalys from Paris and ICE from Germany.

(Reporting by Philip Blenkinsop)