The Coast Tram ( nl, Kusttram) is a

public transport Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typi ...

service connecting the cities and towns along the Belgian (

West Flanders West Flanders ( nl, West-Vlaanderen ; vls, West Vloandern; french: (Province de) Flandre-Occidentale ; german: Westflandern ) is the westernmost province of the Flemish Region, in Belgium. It is the only coastal Belgian province, facing the No ...

) coast between

De Panne De Panne (; french: La Panne ) is a town and a municipality located on the North Sea coast of the Belgian province of West Flanders. There it borders France, making it the westernmost town in Belgium. It is one of the most popular resort town des ...

, near the

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

border, and

Knokke-Heist Knokke-Heist (; french: Knocke-Heist) is a municipality in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the towns of Heist-aan-Zee, Knokke, Duinbergen, Ramskapelle and Westkapelle. On January 1, 2006 Knokke-Heist had a total ...

, near the

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

border. At in length, it is currently the world's longest

tram A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport ...

line in service as well as one of the few

interurban The Interurban (or radial railway in Europe and Canada) is a type of electric railway, with streetcar-like electric self-propelled rail cars which run within and between cities or towns. They were very prevalent in North America between 1900 ...

tramways in the world to remain in operation. The line is built at and fully electrified at 600 V DC.

History

What is now the coast line started out as part of the extensive Belgian Vicinal tramway, a network of interurban trams that once covered the entire nation. The first section of the coast line between

Ostend Ostend ( nl, Oostende, ; french: link=no, Ostende ; german: link=no, Ostende ; vls, Ostende) is a coastal city and municipality, located in the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerk ...

and Nieuwpoort was opened in 1885. Although the original route was further inland than the modern one, only short parts of the original section in Ostend and Nieuwpoort centres are still in operation. On its creation, the line was managed by the NMVB (''Nationale Maatschappij van Buurtspoorwegen''), that operated an interurban tram system throughout Belgium. In 1991, the NMVB/SNCV was broken into two regional companies, one Walloon and the other

Flemish Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...

, with the Flemish successor company, Vlaamse Vervoermaatschappij

De Lijn Vlaamse Vervoersmaatschappij De Lijn (English: Flemish transport company ''De Lijn''), usually known as De Lijn (, "The Line"), is a company run by the Flemish government in Belgium to provide public transportation with about 2240 buses and 399 tr ...

taking responsibility for operation of the coastal tram.

Characteristics

The service makes 67 stops along the almost line, with a tram running every 10 min during the peak summer months (every 20 min in the winter months), and it is used by over 15 see: Kusttram on Wikipedia. million passengers per year. The service has been made more

accessible Accessibility is the design of products, devices, services, vehicles, or environments so as to be usable by people with disabilities. The concept of accessible design and practice of accessible development ensures both "direct access" (i. ...

by new low-floor centre sections to existing vehicles and a few new ''

HermeLijn The Ghent tramway network ( nl, de Gentse tram) is a network of tramways forming part of the public transport system in Ghent, a city in the Flemish Region of Belgium, with a total of three lines (1, 2 and 4). Since 1991, the network has been ope ...

'' low-floor trams.(temporary, in summer) (from

Ghent Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded i ...

and

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

). In 2021, new

CAF Urbos The CAF Urbos is a family of trams, streetcars, and light rail vehicles built by CAF. The Basque manufacturer CAF previously manufactured locomotives, passenger cars, regional, and underground trains. In 1993, CAF started building trams for Metr ...

trams will come into service to replace the old trams. They are completely low-floor and longer than the old trams. Most of the older trams are unidirectional and have to be turned on a loop in order to reverse direction while the newer ones are bidirectional, with driving positions and doors on both end/sides. Notable features are the sea-view between Ostend and Middelkerke, the tracks through the dunes at De Haan, the fast speed, the two alternative routes that exist around both ends of the Leopoldkanaal locks, and the similar single track diversion around the inland end of the Boudewijnkanaal lock. The maximum speed is officially . This speed is common between the villages.

Gallery

File:Kusttram Henegouwenstraat.JPG, Tram in

Henegouwenstraat stop (abandoned) File:Tramstation Oostende.JPG, Ostend(old tramstation, demolished in 2019) File:Kusttram.jpg, Tram in Oostende station Ostend, demolished in 2019) File:Tram verlaat De Haan.JPG, Tram leaving De Haan station File:De Haan tramstation.JPG, De Haan station(in service in 1902) File:Trams in De Haan.JPG, A couple of trams in De Haan station File:De Haan - tram rail tracks.jpg, Tracks between De Haan and Wenduine File:Adinkerke Kusttram stelplaats.JPG, Depot at

Adinkerke Adinkerke (French: ''Adinkerque'') is a village in the municipality of De Panne in western Belgium close to the French border. It forms a conurbation with the coastal town of De Panne, which in turn is part of the west Belgian coastal conurbation. ...

File:NMVB tram Blankenberge.jpg, Classic tram in 1980s (

Blankenberge Blankenberge (; french: Blankenberghe; vls, Blanknberge) is a city and a municipality in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the town of Blankenberge proper and the settlement of Uitkerke. On 1 December 2014, ...

) File:SNCV, motrice type "BN", Nieuwpoort.jpg, In 1986 Nieuwpoort File:Tram Oostende NMVB 2.jpg, Ostend in 1982 File:Tram station Oostende NMVB 6.jpg, Also in 1982 Oostende station (Ostend)

History

Characteristics

Gallery

See also

References

External links