National Society of Belgian Railways

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Nationale Maatschappij der Belgische Spoorwegen (NMBS)

Société nationale des chemins de fer belges (SNCB)

National company of the Belgian railways

logo
legal form public limited company
founding January 1, 2005 (in its current form)
Seat Brussels , Belgium
management Sophie Dutordoir
Number of employees 19 368 ( 2016 )
sales EUR 2,371.0 million  ( 2016 ) EBITDA
Branch transport
Website www.belgianrail.be

The National Company of the Belgian Railways ( Dutch Nationale Maatschappij der Belgische Spoorwegen (NMBS) , French Société nationale des chemins de fer belges (SNCB) ) is the state railway company of the Kingdom of Belgium . It is sometimes called B-Rail , especially by English-speaking foreigners , the Dutch and French abbreviations NMBS and SNCB are better known . In the company symbol, which Henry van de Velde designed in 1936, the letter B appears in a horizontal oval in a language-neutral manner .

history

Construction time

First Belgian L'Éléphant locomotive (wooden model) in Train World , Brussels

Belgium was the first country in continental Europe to create a coherent railway network. Until 1842 the Belgian state built the railways in the country itself; a detailed overview is provided by z. B. the Belgium Baedeker of 1853. He then sold concessions, initially mainly to English companies, then to a subsidiary of the French Compagnie des chemins de fer du Nord , so that finally about 600 kilometers of state railways faced a multiple route length in private hands. At the end of the 19th century, however, he bought it back and founded the so-called "Railway Administration" .

By 1900 Belgium had 170 meters of railway line per square kilometer, compared to 103 m / km² in England, 79 m / km² in Germany and 70 m / km² in France.

Track openings

Belgium 1844 with the first railway lines

1914-1945

Express locomotive of the series one of the 1930s

After the occupation of Belgium in the First World War in 1914 by the German Reich , railway traffic was initially subordinated to a German railway administrative council and, from June 1, 1915, to a German military general management . Subordinate to this were military railway directorates and line commanders, who were responsible for operational management. The military General Brussels were all German hand as war booty seized railway cars assigned and for renumbered. In order to be able to identify their origin later, the numbers were provided with additional letters that refer to the previous owners .

In 1926 the National Society of Belgian Railways was founded. In 1927 this company was already privatized.

At the end of the 1930s , the Belgian railways had some of the fastest steam-hauled trains in Europe and the world. Two pairs of trains hauled by streamlined locomotives of the NMBS / SNCB series 12 between Brussels and Ostend reached scheduled cruising speeds of 114.3 km / h in 1939 and thus briefly held the world record for complete train runs. On the section between Brussels and Bruges, trains 401 and 405 achieved a European record, which is still valid today, for the highest speed of a steam-hauled train between two scheduled stops with a cruising speed of 120.46 km / h. From 1927 the Étoile du Nord was used from Paris via Brussels to Amsterdam and from 1929 the Oiseau Bleu from Paris via Brussels to Antwerp. The Ostend-Cologne-Pullman Express ran to Germany from 1929 .

1945–1990

Shunting the series 82 at the ferry terminal Zeebrugge

After the Second World War, the NMBS / SNCB was nationalized again. The NMBS / SNCB ended the operation with steam locomotives in 1966 , on December 20 of this year the locomotive 29.013 of the NMBS / SNCB series 29 hauled the last steam-hauled train between Ath and Denderleeuw .

After the Second World War, there was a reduction to important connections: some routes leading to sparsely populated areas were closed and replaced by cheaper buses , or some routes that had been destroyed during the war were not rebuilt at all (e.g. Gouvy - St. Vith ). While numerous less frequented stops were closed in the 1980s , at the same time - and quite early compared to other European railways - there was also a renaissance of rail traffic in rural areas; routes were reopened and the vehicle fleet made more attractive. Examples of reactivated routes are Antwerp - Neerpelt and Welkenraedt - Eupen , the long-distance trains between Ostend and Cologne, which were largely formed from the new standardized Eurofima wagons from the end of the 1970s , represent a more attractive fleet . These cars were air-conditioned and thus offered more comfort for second-class travelers than the top product of the Deutsche Bundesbahn at the time , the IC network from 1979 , on which only about half of the cars in the second class were air-conditioned. With the Eurofima wagons, the likewise standardized Eurofima C1 paintwork (pure orange with light gray stripes) was introduced, and numerous other Belgian passenger wagons were also painted accordingly.

Also in the 1980s, a nationwide standardized, synchronized InterCity / InterRegio network was created for long-distance traffic . As of June 3, 1984, 13 IC and 16 IR lines connected the 70 most important railway stations in Belgium - also quite early in a European comparison. P and L trains were introduced for local public transport . While the latter - similar to the ICs and IRs - are clocked, the P trains ( Piekuurtrein = peak traffic train ) run as a kind of express train , which connects the area with regional centers such as Brussels and Antwerp, only in the period from 6 to 9 and 16 to 19 Clock. In addition, the so-called T-trains ( des trains touristiques ) run during vacation periods. This train system has proven itself to this day and has been supplemented by several lines in the InterCity and InterRegio area, so that currently 38 IC lines operate nationwide. With the timetable change in December 2014, the IR lines were renamed IC.

1991 until today

Trainset of class 41 in Ghent - a colorful color scheme today characterizes the trains

Since 1991 the NMBS / SNCB has been a so-called "independent company".

In order to meet the further requirements of European rail traffic, a decision was made in the 1990s to completely rebuild routes such as the high-speed route Brussels – Liège – Aachen, to modernize important train stations and to further modernize the vehicle fleet. In that decade, the NMBS / SNCB also became a founding member of the Eurostar Group and Thalys International.

Belgian rail transport has been liberalized since January 1st, 2005. The Belgian railways have been an independent state-owned company ever since. In the course of the EU-wide adaptation and liberalization of rail traffic, the NMBS / SNCB was divided into three business areas: NMBS / SNCB Holding Group (control task, higher-level organization), Infrabel (operator of the rail network ) and NMBS / SNCB (rail transport company). In this structure, the Belgian state held 80% in Infrabel and 99.9% in NMBS / SNCB Holding Group ; this in turn was the sole owner of NMBS / SNCB and held the remaining 20% ​​in Infrabel. At the beginning of 2013, the Belgian federal government decided on a new structure that came into force on January 1, 2014. Today the Belgian state is the sole owner of NMBS / SNCB, HR Rail and Infrabel. HR Rail is a newly founded company that acts as an employer for the employees of NMBS / SNCB and Infrabel. The NMBS / SNCB Holding Group was eliminated.

The NMBS / SNCB was a founding member of the Railteam in 2007 .

electrification

Class 18 four-system locomotive in
Compiègne station in France , 1989

In 1935 the first line between Brussels and Antwerp was electrified. Here was direct voltage of 3000 volts applied. Since the 1950s there has been a delay in electrification because diesel-electric locomotives were preferred for reasons of cost. In the meantime, however, efforts are being made to fully electrify the route network.

The NMBS / SNCB continues to use direct current with 3 kV in the vast majority of the route network . Only a few modernized sections (Athus – Meuse) and the high-speed lines are operated with 25 kV AC voltage at 50  Hz . The decision to electrify with 3 kV resulted in system separation points at the borders with all neighboring countries . The Belgian railways therefore had multi-system locomotives developed early on , one of the first four- system designs was the series 16 , which went into service in 1966 .

Route network

Belgium has one of the densest rail networks in the world. The underground, six-track Brussels north-south connecting line is the busiest railway tunnel in the world with around 1200 trains per day. Infrabel is responsible for the further expansion of the network .

In Belgium, high-speed routes are known as ligne à grande vitesse or hogesnelheidslijn . The line network runs from the French (and further to the English), German and Dutch borders in a star shape to the capital Brussels .

High-speed routes in Belgium
route Line speed length Installation Vehicle use Power system Train control
In operation HSL 1 , Brussels – Lille (connection to LGV Nord ) 300 km / h 88 km 1997 TGV , Eurostar , Thalys 25 kV, 50 Hz TVM430
In operation HSL 2 , Leuven – Ans (Brussels – Liège route) 300 km / h 62 km 2002 Thalys, ICE 3M , IC 25 kV, 50 Hz TBL 2
In operation HSL 3 , Chênée – Walhorn (Liège – Aachen route) 260 km / h 42 km 2009 Thalys, ICE 3M 25 kV, 50 Hz ETCS level 2
In operation HSL 4 , Antwerp – Rotterdam (connection to HSL-Zuid ) 300 km / h 40 km 2009 Thalys, IC 25 kV, 50 Hz ETCS level 2

passenger traffic

Passenger rail transport in Belgium is almost exclusively carried out by NMBS / SNCB, which also operates regional trains on the Spa – Aachen ( euregioAIXpress and Liège S-Bahn ), Antwerp-Roosendaal and Liège – Maastricht routes. Freight trains operated by the private “Dillen en Lejeune Cargo” (DLC) operate between Germany and the port of Antwerp.

There are the following types of train :

Types of passenger trains in Belgium
Abbr. Full name ( ndl. ) Full name ( French ) Tasks, covered transport needs
THA Thalys High-speed train to Paris, Amsterdam, Cologne and Dortmund
EST Eurostar Bullet train to London
ICE ICE International High-speed train to Cologne and Frankfurt am Main
TGV Train à grande vitesse High-speed train mainly to France
IC Intercity 36 lines running every hour with the names IC 01 to IC 35, stopping distances less than in other countries, average speed 70 to 90 km / h
ICT touristic-oriented InterCity (formerly: T-Trein )
L. Local trein Train local Local train, basic offer in local transport, comparable to regional train
S. S-Trein Train S S-Bahn in Antwerp , Brussels , Charleroi , Ghent and Liège
P Piekuurtrein Train d'heure de pointe The high-speed train, similar to the regional express or regional train booster trains , only runs on weekdays between 6 a.m. and 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Rates

There is no tariff separation between local and long-distance transport , with the exception of ICE and Thalys , in Belgium. The passenger transport tariffs are based on the distance with a maximum price of more than 150 km. Certain groups of people receive discounts (in some cases only on certain days and on certain routes) (pensioners, severely disabled people, children, war invalids, ...). There are also special tourist day and weekend tickets with discounts of between 40 and 60%, as well as the EUREGIO-Ticket valid in the triangle around Liège / Aachen / Maastricht . Commuters are also reimbursed for part of the monthly ticket price by their employer. Another special feature is the Rail Pass ; This is a ticket that the passenger can issue himself ten times (entry of departure and destination stations, day of the week and date). It costs € 76 for the second and € 117 for the first class. This ticket is valid for journeys between any two access points; Border points are excluded. This offer is also available for young people (up to and including the age of 25), the so-called Go Pass 10 , for only 50 € and also ten trips in the second class, or 6.40 € as Go Pass 1 for a single one Journey. For short journeys (e.g. from Eupen to Verviers, but not within the Brussels zone) there is a key card for € 20 in second and € 30 in first class, also for 10 trips. All of these passes are valid for one year from the date of purchase.

Ticketing systems

A lead plate system was used until the 1980s, where a print was made on a small pink and red rectangular cardboard card. It was replaced by an independent, computer-controlled Prodata ticketing system based on a floppy disk drive. On December 8, 1992 it was replaced by SABIN , a network-based system.

Current operation

IC 01 with a class 13 dual-system locomotive at Eupen station
Class 15 three-system locomotive in front of IR in Liège-Guillemins station , 2007 before its conversion

The Belgian state railway operates one of the densest railway networks in the world.

Brussels is a center of European high-speed traffic with Eurostar connections to London , Thalys connections to Amsterdam , Cologne and Paris and Intercity Express connections to Frankfurt am Main . Other hubs of Belgian rail traffic are Antwerp , Leuven , Gent-St.-Pieters , Bruges , Liège-Guillemins , Namur and Charleroi-Sud .

A comprehensive modernization of the vehicle fleet has been carried out in recent years. An S-Bahn network has been created for Brussels . It went into operation on December 13, 2015.

numbers

In 2001, the company carried 160 million travelers on a route network with a total length of 3454 kilometers. 2701 km of the total route network are electrified. The network density is 112.6 m / km² and is thus well above the EU average of 51.2 m / km². The NMBS / SNCB has 537 train stations and stops - new ones are added every year.

The NMBS / SNCB in 2004 was 1.27 billion euros, the largest Belgian investor, the turnover of the NMBS / SNCB amounts to about 2.21 billion euros (as of 2004).

Important train stations

Brussels Capital Region

Flanders

Station staff in Ostend

Wallonia

Freight transport

The subsidiary Lineas provides goods traffic under the brand names IFB and Xpedys . It is owned by Argos Soditic and the NMBS / SNCB . The shares were initially divided between the two shareholders at 68.88% and 31.12%. Argos Wityu has held 90% of the shares since May 2020, NMBS / SNCB 10%.

See also

Individual evidence

  • Belgian course book
  1. ^ Board of Directors of the SNCB
  2. ^ Rapport annuel consolidé 2016 (Consolidated Annual Report 2016).
  3. SNCB Rapport d'activités 2016 (Activity Report 2016).
  4. ^ Karl Baedeker: Belgium. Guide for travelers. 5th edition. Coblenz 1853, pp. XV ff. Digitized .
  5. Archived copy ( memento of October 9, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Michel Marin: Histoire des Chemins de Fer en Belgique .
  6. ^ Brockhaus' Konversationslexikon , 14th edition, 1894-1896, p. 688: Belgische Eisenbahnen .
  7. ^ Eisenbahndirektion Mainz (ed.): Official Gazette of the Royal Prussian and Grand Ducal Hessian Railway Directorate in Mainz from June 12, 1915, No. 31. Nachrichten, p. 207.
  8. Eisenbahndirektion Mainz (ed.): Official Gazette of the Royal Prussian and Grand Ducal Hessian Railway Directorate in Mainz of October 23, 1915, No. 53. Announcement No. 706, pp. 345–346; Railway Directorate Mainz (ed.): Official Gazette of the Royal Prussian and Grand Ducal Hessian Railway Directorate in Mainz of November 27, 1915, No. 58. Announcement No. 764, p. 376.
  9. Ronald Krug: From the train transport service: The fastest steam trains. International comparison of records, top speeds and travel speeds. EK-Verlag, Freiburg im Breisgau 2014, ISBN 978-388255-770-1 , p. 58.
  10. Brochures IC-IR ( Memento from June 25, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) on b-rail.be , accessed on June 6, 2014.
  11. Behind the scenes at eurostar.com (English), accessed on August 10, 2014.
  12. a b Comparison of the structure of the Belgian railways 2005-2013 with the structure from 2014 on belgianrail.be , accessed on 10 August 2014.
  13. a b Company on belgianrail.be , accessed on 10 August 2014.
  14. Luc Joris: NMBS / SNCB says goodbye to freight trains. In: Newmobility.news. May 22, 2020, accessed on July 18, 2020 (English, with quotations from De Tijd ).
  15. Our organization

Web links

Commons : National Railway Company of Belgium  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files