On 10th December 2009, Mr. Jannie Haek, CEO of SNCB-Holding, welcomed UIC Chairman Yoshio Ishida and a JR East delegation visit to SNCB. After welcoming them at the Brussels Midi Station, Mr. Haek invited Mr. Ishida to the high-speed rolling stock maintenance workshop in Forest. Mr. Ishida and the delegation visited the workshop site and this was followed by an explanation of the workshop and maintenance of the high-speed rolling stock such as Thalys by the technical managers in the workshop.

Then, at the HQ of SNCB-Holding, a general explanation of rolling stock and infrastructure maintenance of the Shinkansen (high-speed) system was presented by JR East and a general presentation on figures and structure of SNCB holdings and its strategy, especially for stations, was presented by the SNCB side. Mr. Haek and Mr. Ishida actively discussed and exchanged their experiences on the current situation surrounding each railway and on the strategies and views towards the future. Mr. Ishida mentioned his impression that SNCB has a large potential for further development because of the advantageous geography of SNCB in Europe.

The delegation then went to the newly opened Liege-Guillemins Station which was designed by Calatrava, the famous Spanish architect.