Liège tram
The Liège tram (FR: Liège ; NL: Luik ) was opened on November 20, 1871 as a horse-drawn tram by the Chémin de Fer Américain under the name "Tramways Liégeois" (" Liège tram "). The first line connected the train station with the city center, two kilometers away. The network existed until the last line was closed in 1967.
A tram line is currently being built in Liège and is due to open in 2022.
History of tram traffic
The Coronmeuse – Herstal line was opened on August 9, 1893, as Belgium's first electric tram. However, only 200 meters of this route ran through the city. On October 22, 1896, the previous two horse-drawn tram lines were switched to electrical operation. There was also a new route through the city center.
Various companies were set up to operate the trams, which belonged to the state, the city and private parties. In 1905 there were six different companies that operated their lines both electrically and with steam.
- Tramways Communaux (TC) of the City of Liège; Line 1 - 4
- Tramways Liégeois (TL) of the Belgian state; Line 5 - 9
- Société Anonyme des Railways Economiques Liège-Seraing & Extensions (RELSE), a private company
- Tramways Est - Oest (EO), a private company
- Tram de Cointe (TCo), a private company
- Société Nationale des Chemins de Fer Vicinaux (SNCV), a national small railroad company
Except for the lines of the SNCV (meter gauge), all tram lines were standard gauge.
The TC, TL and the EO merged in 1928 to form Tramways Unifiés de Liége & Extensions (TULE). Economic problems and the expiry of concessions finally led to the merger of TULE (or its successor organization) and the Société Anonyme des Railways Economiques Liège-Seraing & Extensions (RELSE) to form the Sociéte des Transports Intercommunaux de la Région Liégoise (STIL) in 1964 .
On November 3, 1967, the last tram line in the center was closed, the last operation of the STIL was given up on April 30, 1968. The Liège Transport Museum was later set up in the tram depot .
Presence of local public transport
Today, Transport en Commun (TEC) operates an extensive bus service, which is often handled on its own lanes.
However, the buses are hardly able to cope with the traffic volume, although double articulated buses are even used.
Future of Tram Transport
After a tram already existed in Liège from 1871 to 1967, due to the high volume of traffic the tram will now be rebuilt.
On February 10, 2017, Eurostat, the European supervisory body for accounting standards, approved the financing package for tram construction. Work is scheduled to begin at the end of 2018 and be completed in spring 2022. First, the Sclessin - Coronmeuse section will be built. It will cover around 11 kilometers with 21 stations and cost € 360 million. In the new project, the tunnels built for a subway and the partially existing bus lanes are to be used.
Web links
- Action alliance for the reintroduction of the tram in Liège (French)
- https://letram.be/ (project website)
Individual evidence
- ↑ M. Lambou, history of public transport of Liege
- ^ Homepage of the alliance for the reintroduction of the tram in Liège (in French)