Vicinal Tramway - NMVB / SNCV

NMVB / SNCV

Belgium legislation allowing for the construction of rural tramways was passed in 1875, followed by a new law in 1885. The result was the creation of the national Vicinal tramway company - Nationale Maatschappij van Buurtspoorwegen (NMVB) in Dutch, Société nationale des chemins de fer vicinaux (SNCV) in French. The majority of tramlines were 1000 mm gauge (although until 1921 many in the Antwerp area were 1067 mm in gauge, but were later regauged). Many of the tram lines were built alongside roads and also carried considerable quantities of freight (especially timber and agricultural produce) as well as passengers.

World War I and World War II saw greatly increased traffic on the vicinal trams, despite some wartime damage. The non-electric network reached a peak of approximately 3,938 km in 1925, but soon parts of the system started to close as usage of buses, lorries and electric trams increased. At this time, the electric network was already 523 km in length.

After World War II lorries, buses and cars deprived the vicinal trams of much of their business. The electric network reached a peak of 1,528 km in 1950. At the same time, the whole network (electric and non-electric) was still approximately 4,236 km in length (the peak of 4,811 km was in 1945), but by 1960 had been reduced to only 977 km. In 1977, the buses of the Belgian railways (SNCB/NMBS) were transferred to the SNCV/NMVB. The tramways from Brussels to Wemmel, Koningslo 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. The SNCV/NMVB was duly broken up in 1991 into De Lijn (for Flanders) and TEC (for Wallonia). Both companies primarily operate buses. However De Lijn inherited the tram systems in Ghent and Antwerp (including the city's Pre-metro), operated previously by local companies MIVG and MIVA respectively, as well as the coastal tramway. TEC operates the Charleroi Pre-metro which includes sections of Vicinal track. STIB/MIVB operates the standard-gauge Brussels metro, tram and bus network.