Rail transport in Belgium

File:Train electrification Belgium.jpg

DEMAIN... Métropolitain électrique de Belgique. Poster announcing railway electrification, around 1935.

Belgium has an extensive railroad network. On May 5, 1835 the first railway in continental Europe opened between Brussels-Groendreef/Allée verte and Mechelen. Some sort of railroad or canal had been envisaged as early as 1830. The feasibility of a railroad was investigated by engineers Pierre Simons and Gustave De Ridder. The first trains were Stephenson engines imported from Great Britain. The engines were called Pijl meaning Arrow, Olifant meaning Elephant, and finally 'Stephenson' obviously named after his designer. They pulled bench-cars and diligences. On the return from Mechelen, the Olifant pulled all 30 cars. By 1840, Ghent, Bruges, Ostend, Antwerp, Mechelen, Brussels and Leuven were connected. The lines that had to reach Liège, Mons and Kortrijk were partially completed. In 1843, when the major East-West/North-South axes were complete, private companies were allowed to construct and use their own railroad systems. These were crucial in the industrialisation of the country.

In 1870, the Belgian state owned 863 km of rail lines, while the private enterprises owned 2,231 km. From 1870 to 1882, the railways were gradually nationalised. In 1912, 786 km were state property compared to 275 km private lines. Full nationalisation was considered at the time, but was never enacted until 1926 when the NMBS/SNCB was started. It was named the NMBS (Nationale Maatschappij der Belgische Spoorwegen) or SNCB (Société Nationale des Chemins de Fer Belges, not to be confused with SNCF). In 1958 the net was fully state-owned. On 5 May 1935 the NMBS/SNCB started with electrification on the line Brussel-Noord/Bruxelles-Nord to Antwerpen-Centraal, 44 km.

Infrastructure

In 2003 the network constituted 3,518 km of railways, all of which were standard gauge: 1.435 m gauge. Of all of those railways, 2,631 km were also electrified. Most electrified Belgian lines use a 3,000 volt DC overhead power supply, but the high speed-lines (Brussels-Lille, Brussels-Liège-Köln and Brussels-Antwerp-Amsterdam) are electrified at 25,000 volts AC, as are recent electrifications in the south of the country (Rivage - Gouvy and Dinant - Athus lines).

The trains in Belgium operate on the left. This is in contrast to road vehicles, which drive on the right side of the road.

The railway network is controlled by Infrabel, itself a subsidiary of SNCB/NMSB Holding.

Policy

Citizens in Belgium, especially students and older citizens, are offered incentives and cheaper fares in order to alleviate congestion on the nation's roads. Smoking is prohibited in all train stations and passenger cars.

See also

• Rail transport by country
• Transportation in Belgium