Belgian coast tram

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The Belgian Coast Tram near Ostend

The Belgian Coast Tram (Dutch: Kusttram) is a public transport service serving the coast of Belgium between De Panne near the French border to Knokke-Heist near the Dutch border. It is the longest tram line in the world.

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 user-friendly through the addition of low-floor centre sections to the existing vehicles, and the use of some new 'HermeLijn' low-floor trams.

The first section between Oostende and Nieuwpoort was brought into service in 1885. 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 responsibiity for operation of the coastal tram.

An interesting feature is the two alternative routes that exist around either end of the Leopoldkanaal locks just east of Zeebrugge, and the similar single track diversion around the inland end of the Boudewijnkanaal lock.