Coast Tram (Belgium)
The Coast Tram () is a public transport service connecting the cities and towns along the Belgian (West Flanders) coast between De Panne, near the French border, and Knokke-Heist, near the Dutch border. At in length, it is the world's longest tram line in service as well as one of the few interurban tramways in the world to remain in operation. The line is built at and fully electrified at 600 V DC. History. What is now the coast line started out as part of the extensive Belgian Vicinal tramway, a network of interurban trams that  once covered the entire nation. The first section of the coast line between Ostend and Nieuwpoort was opened in 1885, although the original route was further inland than the modern one and only short parts of the original section in Ostend and Nieuwpoort centres are still in operation. On its creation, the line was managed by the NMVB ("Nationale Maatschappij van Buurtspoorwegen"), that operated an interurban tram system throughout Belgium. 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 67 stops along the line, with a tram running every 10 min during the peak summer months (every 20 min in the winter months), and it is used by over 15 million passengers per year. The service has been made more accessible by new low-floor centre sections to existing vehicles and a few new "HermeLijn" low-floor trams.(temporary,in summer) (from Ghent and Antwerp). In 2021, new CAF Urbos trams will come into service to replace the old trams. They are completely low-floor and longer than the old trams. While  most of the older trams are unidirectional and so have to be turned on a loop in order to reverse direction, the newer ones are bidirectional, with driving positions and doors on both end/sides. Interesting features are the sea-view between Ostend and Middelkerke, the tracks through the dunes at De Haan, the high-speed, the two alternative routes that exist around both ends of the Leopoldkanaal locks, just east of Zeebrugge, and the similar single track diversion around the inland end of the Boudewijnkanaal lock. That avoids delays when the road bridge that the tram line normally follows  is raised for boats passing under it. There is a similar feature at the southern end of Ostend station around the lock entrance to the Vlotdok. The maximum speed is officially . This speed is common between the villages.