This article is about transportation in Belgium.

Contents

1 Railways 2 Highways 3 Waterways 4 Pipelines 5 Ports and harbors 5.1 Sea ports 5.2 Main inland ports 5.3 European portuary context 6 Merchant marine 7 Airports 7.1 with paved runways 7.2 with unpaved runways 7.3 Heliports 8 Reference 9 See also

Railways

Main article: Rail transport in Belgium

Total of 3,437 km (2,446 km electrified; 2,563 km double track) all on standard gauge of 1.435 m (1998).

NMBS/SNCB is the National Railway Company of Belgium.

Trains, unlike road traffic, run on the left.

City with metro system: Brussels (MIVB/STIB , see also Brussels Metro). Cities with light rail systems: Antwerp (De Lijn), Charleroi (TEC), Ghent (De Lijn). Some heavy metro infrastructures were built in Antwerp and in Charleroi and its suburbs, but these are currently used by light rail vehicles, and their conversion to full metro is not envisaged at present due to lack of funds.

Highways

total: 145,850 km
paved: 117,701 km (including 1,682 km of expressways)
unpaved: 28,149 km (1998)

Waterways

2,043 km (1,528 km in regular commercial use)

Pipelines

crude oil 161 km; petroleum products 1,167 km; natural gas 3,300 km

Ports and harbors

Sea ports

Antwerp (one of the world's busiest ports) Port of Antwerp

2003	unloaded	loaded	total
Total volume in tonnes	77,596,356	65,278,156	142,874,512
Container volume in TEU	2,642,338	2,803,100	5,445,437
Barge traffic in tonnes	33,990,726	42,623,875	76,614,601

2004	unloaded	loaded	total
Total volume in tonnes	83,109,485	69,217,080	152,326,565
Container volume in TEU	2,946,297	3,117,450	6,063,746
Barge traffic in tonnes	35,969,512	45,969,918	81,939,430

Zeebrugge (Port suburb of Bruges) Port of Bruges
Ghent Port of Ghent
Ostend Port of Ostend

Main inland ports

Brussels (also accessible for ocean-going ships) Port of Brussels
Liège (one of the busiest in Europe) Port of Liège

European portuary context

European Sea Ports Organisation ESPO
European Federation of Inland Ports FEPI
Inland Navigation Europe INE
2002 ranking of world ports by tonnage and by container volume (in TEU) Port ranking

Merchant marine

total: 22 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 35,075 GRT/57,347 DWT
ships by type: cargo 7, chemical tanker 8, petroleum tanker 7 (1999 est.)

Airports

Main article: List of airports in Belgium.

42 (1999 est.)

with paved runways

total: 24
over 3,047 m: 6, including Brussels International Airport.
2,438 to 3,047 m: 8
1,524 to 2,437 m: 3
914 to 1,523 m: 1
under 914 m: 6 (1999 est.)

with unpaved runways

total: 18
914 to 1,523 m: 2
under 914 m: 16 (1999 est.)

Heliports

1 (1999.)

Reference

Much of the material in this article comes from the CIA World Factbook 2000.

See also

• Belgium