The Coast Tram () is a

light rail Light rail (or light rail transit, abbreviated to LRT) is a form of passenger urban rail transit that uses rolling stock derived from tram technology National Conference of the Transportation Research Board while also having some features from ...

service connecting the cities and towns along the Belgian (

West Flanders West Flanders is the westernmost province of the Flemish Region, in Belgium. It is the only coastal Belgian province, facing the North Sea to the northwest. It has land borders with the Dutch province of Zeeland to the northeast, the Flemis ...

) coast between

De Panne De 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 destinations within ...

, near the French border, and

Knokke-Heist Knokke-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 population o ...

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

metre gauge Metre-gauge railways ( US: meter-gauge railways) are narrow-gauge railways with track gauge of or 1 metre. Metre gauge is used in around of tracks around the world. It was used by several European colonial powers including France, Britain and ...

tram A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which Rolling stock, vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some ...

line, and the second-longest light rail service in the world after the A Line of the

Los Angeles Metro Rail The Los Angeles Metro Rail is an urban rail transit system serving Los Angeles County, California, United States, consisting of six lines: four light rail lines (the A, C, E and K lines) and two rapid transit lines (the B and D lines), ...

system, as well as one of the few

interurban The interurban (or radial railway in Canada) is a type of electric railway, with tram-like electric self-propelled railcars which run within and between cities or towns. The term "interurban" is usually used in North America, with other terms u ...

tramways in the world to remain in operation. The line is 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 ( ; ; ; ) is a coastal city and municipality in the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerke, Raversijde, Stene and Zandvoorde, and the city of Ostend proper – the la ...

and Nieuwpoort was opened in 1885. This original route was further inland than the modern one and 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 may refer to: * Flemish, adjective for Flanders, Belgium * Flemish region, one of the three regions of Belgium *Flemish Community, one of the three constitutionally defined language communities of Belgium * Flemish dialects, a Dutch dialec ...

, with the Flemish successor company, Vlaamse Vervoermaatschappij

De Lijn Vlaamse Vervoersmaatschappij De Lijn (, ), more commonly known as De Lijn, is a state-owned enterprise run by the Flemish government in Belgium to provide public transport with about 2240 buses and 399 trams. De Lijn was founded in 1991 after the ...

taking responsibility for operation of the coastal tram.

Route

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 in 2016 was used by roughly 15 million passengers. Notable features are the sea-view between Ostend and

Middelkerke Middelkerke () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders, on the North Sea, west of Ostend. The municipality comprises the villages of Leffinge, Lombardsijde, Mannekensvere, Middelkerke proper, Schore, Sint-Pieters-K ...

, 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.

Rolling stock

In 2021–22, 48 new

CAF Urbos The CAF Urbos is a family of trams, streetcars, and light rail vehicles built by Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles, CAF. The Spain, Spanish manufacturer CAF previously made locomotives, passenger cars, regional, and underground trains. In ...

''Zeelijner''

low-floor tram A low-floor tram is a tram that has no steps between one or more entrances and part or all of the passenger cabin. The low-floor design improves the accessibility of the tram for the public, and also may provide larger windows and more airspace. ...

s entered service to replace all the older BN series 6000, the last of which was withdrawn on 23 September 2023. The series 6000 were similar to the

Métro Léger de Charleroi The Métro Léger de Charleroi (, abbreviated as MLC) is a light rail network in Belgium. The system consists of a loop line around central Charleroi and three branches towards the suburbs of Gilly, Belgium, Gilly, Anderlues and Gosselies. Anoth ...

LRV fleet and, to a lesser extent, the LRTA 1000 class of the

Manila Light Rail Transit System The Manila Light Rail Transit System, commonly known as the LRT, is an urban rail transit system that primarily serves Metro Manila, Philippines. Although categorized as a light rail system because it originally used light rail vehicles, it pre ...

yellow line. They were originally six-axle vehicles with two sections, but later extended with an extra low-floor centre section. During the summers from 2006 to 2022 ''HermeLijn'' trams were loaned from

Ghent Ghent ( ; ; historically known as ''Gaunt'' in English) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the Provinces of Belgium, province ...

and

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

tram networks (also operated by De Lijn) for use on the coast tram line. All trams, except the loaned ''HermeLijn'' from Ghent are unidirectional and have to be turned on a loop in order to reverse direction.

Gallery

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

Blankenberge Blankenberge (; ; ) is a seaside Municipalities of Belgium, municipality and City status in Belgium, city in the Belgium, Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the town of Blankenberge proper and the settlement of Uitke ...

) Tram station Oostende NMVB 6.jpg, Oostende station in 1982 Tramstation Oostende.JPG,

( old tram station, demolished in 2019) De Haan tramstation.JPG, De Haan station (opened in 1902) Trams in De Haan.JPG, Trams in De Haan station Middelkerke, Belgium - panoramio (3).jpg, BN tram at

Kusttram 05-21 cropped.jpg,

tram De Haan - tram rail tracks.jpg, Tracks between De Haan and Wenduine Adinkerke Kusttram stelplaats.JPG, Depot at

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

References

External links