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Transport in Belgium is facilitated with well-developed road, air, rail and water networks. The rail network has 2,950 km (1,830 mi) of electrified tracks.[1] There are 118,414 km (73,579 mi) of roads, among which there are 1,747 km (1,086 mi) of motorways, 13,892 km (8,632 mi) of main roads and 102,775 km (63,861 mi) of other paved roads.[2] There is also a well-developed urban rail network inBrussels,Antwerp,Ghent andCharleroi. The ports ofAntwerp andZeebrugge are two of the biggest seaports inEurope.Brussels Airport isBelgium its biggest airport.
Rail transport in Belgium was historically managed by theNational Railway Company of Belgium, known as SNCB in French and NMBS in Dutch. In 2005, the public company was split into 2 companies:Infrabel, which manages the rail network and SNCB/NMBS itself, which manages the freight and passenger services. There is a total of 3,536 kilometres (2,197 mi), (2,563 km (1,593 mi) double track (as of 1998)), of which 2,950 km (1,833 mi) are electrified, mainly at 3,000 volts DC but with 351 km (218 mi) at 25 kV 50 Hz AC (2004) and all onstandard gauge of1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in). In 2004 the National Railway Company of Belgium, carried 178.4 million passengers a total of 8,676 million passenger-kilometres. Due to the high population density, operations are relatively profitable, so tickets are cheap and the frequency of services is high. The SNCB/NMBS is continually updating its rolling stock.[citation needed]
The network currently includesfour 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 toLille, and from there toParis orLondon.HSL 2 runs fromLeuven toLiège.HSL 3 continues this route from Liège to the German border nearAachen.HSL 4 runs from Antwerp toRotterdam by meetingHSL-Zuid at the border withNetherlands.
Electrification is at3 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 at25 kV AC. Trains, contrary to tram and road traffic, run on the left.
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.
In Belgium an extensive system of tram-like local railways calledvicinal or buurtspoor lines crossed the country in the first half of the 20th century, and had a greater route length than the main-linerailway system. The only survivors of the vicinal/buurtspoor system are theKusttram (covering almost the entire coast from France to the Netherlands, being the longest tram line in the world) and some sections of theCharleroi lightrail system. Urban tram networks exist in Antwerp (theAntwerp Pre-metro),Ghent and Brussels (theBrussels trams), and are gradually being extended. The onlyrapid transit system in Belgium is theBrussels Metro. Some heavymetro infrastructures were built in Brussels, Antwerp and the Charleroi area, but these are currently used bylight rail vehicles, and their conversion to fullmetro is not envisaged at present due to lack of funds.
Regional transport in Belgium is operated by regional companies:De Lijn inFlanders operates the Kusttram and the Antwerp pre-metro and tram, and the tram in Gent, as well as a bus network both urban and interurban,TEC inWallonia operates the Charleroi lightrail system as well as a bus network andMIVB/STIB in theBrussels Capital-Region operates the Brussels metro as well as the Brussels tram and bus network. Despite this regional organization, some bus and tram routes operated by STIB/MIVB go beyond the regional border, and some bus routes operated by TEC or De Lijn transport passengers from the Flemish or Walloon regions to the capital city or in the other regions.
The road network in Belgium is managed by regional authorities, meaning that a road section in Flanders is managed by theFlemish Government, a road section in Brussels by theBrussels government and a road section in Wallonia by theWalloon Government. This explains that road signs in Flanders are written in Dutch, even when referring to a Walloon region, and conversely, which can be confusing for foreigners who do not know the different translations of Flemish or Walloon cities in the other language. The road network in Belgium is made of highways, national (or regional) roads (the secondary network) and communal roads (or streets). Communal roads are managed at the municipal level. There are also a number of orbital roads in Belgium around major cities.
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]
The highways (motorways) in Belgium are marked with a letterA and a number. Most often however the European numbering system for theinternational 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.
The ringways (or orbital roads) around bigger cities have their own series of numbers. The names start with aR then a first digit indicating the (old) province, and sometimes a second digit to further differentiate in between different ringways.
Some major examples are:
The national roads were renumbered in 1985 according to a national scheme and are identified with the letterN followed by a number.
The principal national roads fan out from Brussels, numbered in clockwise order:
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:
Between 1993 and 2012 the average age of the passengers cars registered as running inBelgium increased from just over 6 years and 4 months to 8 years and 17 days.[4] 2012 data for other European countries are not yet available, but in 2010 the average age of car Belgium was 7.9 years against aEuropean Union average of 8.3 years.[Out of date] Government policy provides an important clue as to one reason for the relative newness of the national car parc.[clarification needed] Despite recent high-profile plant closures byFord andRenault, Belgium remains an important centre for automobile component and passenger car production, with important plants operated byVolvo andAudi, and this is reflected in a relatively benign taxation environment whereby company cars are a still a popular and relatively tax efficient element in many remuneration packages.[5]
Brussels -Port of Brussels[5] (also accessible for ocean-going ships)
Liège -Port of Liège[6] (one of the busiest in Europe)
European Sea Ports OrganisationESPO
European Federation of Inland PortsFEPI
Inland Navigation EuropeINE
2002 ranking of world ports by tonnage and by container volume (in TEU)Port ranking
The Belgian waterway network has 2,043 km, 1,532 km of which is in regular commercial use.[6] The main waterways are:
Waterways are managed on a regional level in Belgium. The region of Brussels only managed 14 km of waterways from theAnderlecht lock to theVilvoorde bridge. In Flanders, the management of waterways is outsourced to four companies: NV De Scheepvaart, Departement Mobiliteit en Openbare Werken, Agentschap voor Maritieme Dienstverlening en Kust and Waterwegen en Zeekanaal NV.
According to the 2009 CIA World Factbook[Out of date], there are a total of 43 airports in Belgium, 27 of which have paved runways. Five airports have passenger flights; the largest of these isBrussels Airport. The other four areOstend-Bruges International Airport,Brussels-South Charleroi Airport,Liège Airport andAntwerp International Airport.[7] Other airports are military airports or small civil airports with no scheduled flights. Well-known military airports include theMelsbroek Air Base and theBeauvechain Air Base.
The Belgian national airline wasSabena from 1923 to 2001, until it went into bankruptcy. A new Belgian airline namedSN Brussels Airlines was then founded by businessmanÉtienne Davignon. The company was then renamed asBrussels 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 airlineLufthansa.
This article incorporatespublic domain material fromThe World Factbook (2025 ed.).CIA. (Archived 2009 edition.)
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