National Company of Light Railways
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The National Company of Light Railways[1] (Template:Langx,Template:Efn abbreviated as NMVB; Template:Langx,Template:Efn abbreviated as SNCV)[1] was a state-owned transportation provider which comprised a system of narrow-gauge tramways or local railways in Belgium,[1] which covered the whole country, including the countryside, and had a greater route length than the mainline railway system.[2] They were Template:RailGauge and included electrified city lines and rural lines using steam locomotives and diesel railcars; half the system was electrified.
The company gradually switched to buses and dismantled the tram tracks. Only the coastal line, the Charleroi light rail system, and the short line to the caves at Han-sur-Lesse are still in commercial use; four museums hold significant collections of rolling stock, including the museum at Schepdaal and the ASVi museum in Thuin. The longest (Script error: No such module "convert".) and oldest (40 years) tourist tramway is the Tramway Touristique de l'Aisne (TTA), between Érezée and Dochamps. A sponsoring group called "Tramania" has supported various tramway preservation initiatives for 13 years, in particular by financing the construction of the Thuin museum and car restoration for TTA.
History
Legislation allowing the construction of rural tramways was passed in 1875, followed by a new law in 1885. The result was the creation of the nationwide operator named "National Company of Light Railways", known as Nationale Maatschappij van Buurtspoorwegen (NMVB) in Dutch and Société Nationale des Chemins de fer Vicinaux (SNCV) in French.[1] The majority of lines were Script error: No such module "Track gauge".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters"., although until 1921 many in the Antwerp metropolitan area were Script error: No such module "Track gauge".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". gauge, later re-gauged.[2] Many lines were built alongside roads, and carried considerable quantities of freight (especially timber and agricultural produce) as well as passengers.[2]
World War I and World War II saw greatly increased traffic despite some wartime damage. The non-electric network reached a peak of approximately Script error: No such module "convert". in 1925, but soon parts started to close as usage of buses, lorries, and electric trams increased. Starting from 1924, the NMVB/SNCV started to operate buses (either owned or hired).[3] At this time, the electric tramway network was already Script error: No such module "convert". in length. In 1939, the NMVB/SNCV operated 161 regular bus lines amounting to Script error: No such module "convert"..
After World War II lorries, buses, and cars deprived the trams of much of their business. The electric network reached a peak of Script error: No such module "convert". in 1950. The whole network (electric and non-electric) was still approximately Script error: No such module "convert". in length (the peak of Script error: No such module "convert". was in 1945), but by 1960 had been reduced to only Script error: No such module "convert".. On several rural lines, passenger tramways were replaced by buses but SNCV/NMVB kept running freight trams until it wasn't profitable anymore. In 1977, the buses of the Belgian railways (SNCB/NMBS) were transferred to SNCV/NMVB. The tramways from Brussels to Wemmel, Template:Interlanguage link multi and Grimbergen closed in 1978.
Political federalism within Belgium from 1980 onwards saw the splitting of many national institutions into separate bodies for Flanders, Wallonia, and the Brussels-Capital Region. SNCV/NMVB was broken up in 1991 into De Lijn (for Flanders) and TEC (for Wallonia), both companies were now primarily operating buses. De Lijn inherited the tram systems in Ghent and Antwerp (including the Pre-metro), operated previously by local companies MIVG and MIVA respectively, and the coastal tramway. TEC operates the Charleroi light rail system, which includes sections of Vicinal track. STIB/MIVB operates the Script error: No such module "Track gauge".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". Brussels Metro, tram, and bus network.
Gallery
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Train signal
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"Tramparade 125 years of vicinal railways", 4th tram of the parade
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Steam tram in Template:Interlanguage link multi
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Alle (fr) station building, just outside village, now used as a local office for the Société Régionale Wallonne du Transport
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Steam tram locomotive.
See also
Footnotes
References
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External links
- Tramway Touristique Lobbes-Thuin
- Tramway Touristique de l'Aisne
- Photo archives of the Vicinal tramways
- Vicinal tram history and preservation activities
- Trambelgium Template:Webarchive (with NMVB/SNCV history)
- Tram Travels: Vicinal tramway (NMVB/SNCV)
- Template:PM20