**Belgian authorities are waiting to question a train driver who survived a collision near Brussels on Monday that left at least 18 people dead.**The driver, who reportedly jumped from his cabin moments before the crash, is being treated in hospital after suffering serious injuries.
Rail workers in southern Belgium went on strike in reaction to the crash.
Train links have been widely disrupted. The Eurostar to and from Brussels has been suspended for three days.
An investigation into the cause of Monday morning’s train collision is under way, amid suggestions that one train may have driven through a red signal.
Investigators are looking at whether human error, mechanical failures, or the weather may have been primarily to blame.
They have recovered two data recorders, or “black boxes”, from the trains which they are now due to examine, Belgian media reported.
The trains collided at Halle, south-west of Brussels. Dozens of people were injured.
One train had been going from Leuven to Braine-le-Comte while the second train had been travelling from Quievrain to Liege.
‘Missing safety mechanism’
Lucian Spiessens, a former station master at Halle, was cited by local media as saying that the train from Leuven passed a red signal. The driver sounded its horn repeatedly before escaping from his cabin, Mr Spiessens was quoted saying.
The police were waiting to question him as soon as he was well enough to talk to them, rail officials said.
The driver of the other train was among those killed.
Marc Descheemaecker, an official at the SNCB national rail service, said one of the trains was not fitted with a safety mechanism designed to halt trains automatically at a stop sign.
Officials continued to scour the crash site for any trapped bodies and clues to the cause of the collision on Tuesday.
Late on Monday, a statement from SNCB and track operator Infrabel said the crash had been “lateral” and not head-on as previously reported.
“For reasons that are still unknown, the two trains collided laterally at points at the exit of Halle station on the way to Brussels,” the statement said.
Train workers were striking on Tuesday in protest at what they described as deteriorating working conditions, which they said could lead to accidents such as the one at Halle.
SNCB said the “spontaneous” strike was being widely followed and that there would be widespread disruption to train services in southern Belgium, or Wallonia, throughout Tuesday.
Eurostar has cancelled its trains in and out of the Belgian capital for Wednesday.
The high-speed Thalys services to France, Germany and the Netherlands were suspended on Monday and Tuesday.
In a statement on its website, Eurostar said: "We advise that if you do not need to travel to Brussels on Tuesday 16 February that you defer or cancel your trip.
“You will be able to exchange your tickets for a later date or have them refunded.”
Eurostar’s Lille services were running with delays on Tuesday, while Paris services were running normally.
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