Ligne dorsal
The Ligne du Midi ( Southern Railway ) or Ligne Dorsale is a historic railway line in Belgium that runs from Brussels southwest via Mons (Bergen) to Quiévrain near the French border. The name Ligne Dorsale means topline; the route mainly runs over the heights between the river basins of the Schelde and Sambre.
The line was built from 1840 to 1842 by the Belgian state railway company Chemin de fer de l'État . The Ligne Dorsale was completed in stages, in May 1840 from the Brussels Gare du Midi to Tubize , in October to Jurbise and on December 19, 1841 to Mons. The last stretch to Quiévrain went into operation on August 17, 1842. Quiévrain was connected to Valenciennes on November 14, 1842 by a French line . Three and a half years later, on June 16, 1846, branching off from the Paris - Lille line , the southern connection to Valenciennes was put into operation, creating the rail link from Paris to Brussels. This route between Quiévrain and Valenciennes has been interrupted since 1964. Therefore, the main traffic on the current Brussels – Quévy line from Mons will be routed differently. It is possible, however, that the Valenciennes light rail will open a line to Quiévrain station in the next few years .
In Jurbise a line to Tournai was connected by an English company in 1847 . From Jurbise to Maffle it was completed on September 29, 1847, the second section had to be led through the fortifications of Ath , which delayed completion until November 11, 1848.
See also
- SNCB - today's Belgian State Railways
- History of the railroad in France