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The
Coast Tram () is a
public transport service connecting the cities and towns along the entire
Belgian (
West Flanders) coast, between
De Panne near the
French border and
Knokke-Heist near the
Dutch border. At in length, it is the longest
tram line in the world, as well as one of the few
interurban tramways in the world to remain in operation. The line is built at
metre gauge and fully electrified at 600
V d.c..
History
The first section of the track between
Oostende and
Nieuwpoort was brought into service in 1885, although the original route was further inland than the modern one and only short sections in Oostende and Nieuwpoort centres are still in operation. On its creation, the line was managed by the
NMVB (
National Neighbourhood Railway Company), or
SNCV in
French. In 1991, the NMVB/SNCV was broken into two regional companies, one
Walloon and the other
Flemish, with the Flemish successor company, Vlaamse Vervoermaatschappij
De Lijn taking responsibility for operation of the coastal tram.
Characteristics
The service makes 70 stops along the 68 km long line, with a tram running every ten minutes during the peak summer months, during which it is used by over 3 million passengers. The service has recently been made more
accessible through the addition of low-floor centre sections to existing vehicles, and the introduction of a few new
HermeLijn low-floor trams.
While most of the older trams are unidirectional, and thus have to be turned on a loop in order to...
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