Transport in Belgium
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Transport in
Railways
Rail transport in Belgium was historically managed by the
The network currently includes four high speed lines, three operating up to 300 km/h (186 mph), and one up to 260 km/h (162 mph). HSL 1 runs from just south of Brussels to the French border, where it continues to Lille, and from there to Paris or London. HSL 2 runs from Leuven to Liège. HSL 3 continues this route from Liège to the German border near Aachen. HSL 4 runs from Antwerp to Rotterdam by meeting HSL-Zuid at the border with Netherlands.
Electrification is at 3 kV DC, with the exception of the new high-speed lines, and of two recently electrified lines in the south of the country which are at 25 kV AC. Trains, contrary to tram and road traffic, run on the left.
Rail links with adjacent countries
- France — voltage change 3 kV DC – 25 kV AC
- LGV 1 — voltage remains at 25 kV AC.
- via .
- Germany — voltage change 3 kV DC – 15 kV AC
- Netherlands — voltage change 3 kV DC – 1500 V DC
- Luxembourg— no voltage change at the border (the line Hatrival (Libramont)-Luxembourg is at 25 kV AC and the line Gouvy-Luxembourg is at 25 kV AC)
Urban rail
An urban commuter rail network, Brussels RER (French: Réseau express régional Bruxellois, Dutch: Gewestelijk ExpresNet), is operational in the Brussels-Capital Region and surrounding areas.
Metros and light rail
In Belgium an extensive system of tram-like local railways called
Regional transport in Belgium is operated by regional companies:
Road transport
Road network
The road network in Belgium is managed by regional authorities, meaning that a road section in Flanders is managed by the
- total: 152,256 km (2006)
- country comparison to the world: 35
- paved: 119,079 km (including 1,763 km of expressways)
- unpaved: 33,177 km
Belgian road numbering evolved during the middle decades of the twentieth century, in a relatively inconsistent way. Road number allocations became less systematic during the surge in road building that took place in the 1960s and 70s. Frequently downgraded and deteriorating older national roads retained two digit numbers while newer major roads were identified with less instantly memorable three digit numbers, if only because the shorter numbers were already taken. 1985 saw a comprehensive renumbering of the "N" (National) roads which now followed the scheme described below.[3]
Highways
The highways in Belgium are marked with a letter A and a number. Most often however the European numbering system for the international E-road network is used. There is however not always a one-on-one relationship between the two numbering systems along the whole length of the highways.
- A2 (E314): Leuven - Lummen - Genk
- Luxembourg
- )
:(includes a section not yet fully upgraded to motorway standard) - A15 (E42): Charleroi - Namur - Huy - Liège
- Dunkerque
Ringways
The ringways (or orbital roads) around bigger cities have their own series of numbers. The names start with a R then a first digit indicating the (old) province, and sometimes a second digit to further differentiate in between different ringways.
Some major examples are:
- R22are (parts of) inner ringways around Brussels.
- R2 is the northern half ringway around Antwerp.
- R9 is the inner ringway around Charleroi. The inner ring is counterclockwise-only.
- R40 is the inner ringway around Ghent.
- R12 is the inner ringway around Mechelen.
- R36 is the inner ringway around Kortrijk.
- R23 is the ringway around Leuven.
- R30 is the inner ringway around Bruges.
National roads
The national roads were renumbered in 1985 according to a national scheme and are identified with the letter N followed by a number.
The principal national roads fan out from Brussels, numbered in clockwise order:
- N1: Brussels - Mechelen - Antwerp
- N2: Brussels - Leuven - Diest - Hasselt - Maastricht
- N3: Brussels - Leuven - Tienen - Sint-Truiden - Liège - Aachen
- N4: Brussels - Wavre - Namur - Marche-en-Famenne - Bastogne - Arlon
- N5: Brussels - Charleroi - Philippeville
- N6: Brussels - Halle - Soignies - Mons
- N7: Halle - Ath - Tournai
- N8: Brussels - Ninove - Oudenaarde - Kortrijk - Ypres - Veurne - Koksijde
- N9: Brussels - Aalst - Ghent - Eeklo - Bruges - Ostend
Secondary national roads intersect these.
National roads have an N plus 1, 2 or 3 digits. National roads numbered with 3 digits are provincial roads, their first number indicating the province in which the road begins:
- N1xx Province of Antwerp
- N2xx Provinces of Flemish Brabant and Walloon Brabant
- N3xx Province of West Flanders
- N4xx Province of East Flanders
- N5xx Province of Hainaut
- N6xx Province of Liège
- N7xx Province of Limburg
- N8xx Province of Luxembourg
- N9xx Province of Namur
Cars
Changes
Between 1993 and 2012 the average age of the passengers cars registered as running in
Water
Ports and harbours
Sea ports
- Antwerp - Port of Antwerp [1] (one of the world's busiest ports)
- Port of Bruges-Zeebrugge [2](one of the busiest in Europe)
- Ghent - Port of Ghent [3]
- Ostend - Port of Ostend [4]
Main inland ports
Brussels - Port of Brussels [5] (also accessible for ocean-going ships)
Liège - Port of Liège [6] (one of the busiest in Europe)
European portuary context
European Sea Ports Organisation ESPO
European Federation of Inland Ports FEPI
Inland Navigation Europe INE
2002 ranking of world ports by tonnage and by container volume (in TEU) Port ranking
Merchant marine
Waterways
The Belgian waterway network has 2,043 km, 1,532 km of which is in regular commercial use.
Air transport
According to the 2009 CIA World Factbook, there are a total of 43 airports in Belgium, 27 of which have paved runways. Airplane passengers in Belgium can use 5 airports, the largest of which being the
The Belgian national airline used to be Sabena from 1923 to 2001, until it went into bankruptcy. A new Belgian airline named SN Brussels Airlines was subsequently founded by business man Étienne Davignon. The company was then renamed as Brussels Airlines in 2006. In 2016, Air Belgium was founded by Nicky Terzakis, former CEO of TNT Airways, with the goal of connecting Belgium offering long-haul flights. In 2019, Brussels Airlines became a subsidiary of German airline Lufthansa.
See also
- Transport in France
- Transport in Germany
- Transport in the Netherlands
- List of tunnels in Belgium
- Plug-in electric vehicles in Belgium
References
This article incorporates public domain material from The World Factbook (2024 ed.).
- ^ "Infrabel | Right on Track". Archived from the original on 12 September 2012.
- ^ "Longueur du réseau routier revêtu en km". Archived from the original on 2010-05-14. Retrieved 2010-03-30.
- ^ "Wegen-Routes.be: Bewegwijzering en wegnummering in België". Wegen-routes.be. Retrieved 30 August 2017.
- ^ Munster, Jean-François (August 12, 2013). "La Belge garde sa voiture 8 ans: Le parc automobile belge a vielli d'un an et demi en 20 ans". Le Soir. Namur/Luxembourg: 1.
- ^ Munster, Jean-François (August 12, 2013). "Le secteur automobile en pleine mutation". Le Soir. Namur/Luxembourg: 2–3.
- ^ "Service public fédéral Mobilité et Transports - Intranet FR". Archived from the original on 2010-03-27. Retrieved 2010-03-31.
- ^ "Airports". Belgium.be. 26 July 2013. Retrieved 30 August 2017.
Further reading
- Louagie, Mike (2011). Ferries of Belgium. Ramsey, Isle of Man: Ferry Publications. ISBN 9781906608316.