| National Company of Light Railways | |
|---|---|
 Coat of arms of the National Company of Light Railways | |
 Tram in Ostend, 1982 | |
| Overview | |
| Native name | Nationale Maatschappij Van Buurtspoorwegen (NMVB) Société Nationale des Chemins de fer Vicinaux (MIVB) Nationale Kleinbahngesellschaft (NKG) |
| Locale | Belgium |
| Transit type | tramway, railway |
| Operation | |
| Began operation | May 29, 1884 |
| Ended operation | December 31, 1991 |
The National Company of Light Railways[1] (Dutch: Nationale Maatschappij Van Buurtspoorwegen, abbreviated as NMVB; French: Société Nationale des Chemins de fer Vicinaux, abbreviated as SNCV)[1] was a state-owned transportation provider which comprised a system of narrow-gauge tramways or local railways in Belgium,[1] which covered the whole country, including the countryside, and had a greater route length than the mainline railway system.[2] They were 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in) metre gauge and included electrified city lines and rural lines using steam locomotives and diesel railcars; half the system was electrified.
The company gradually switched to buses and dismantled the tram tracks. Only the coastal line, the Charleroi light rail system, and the short line to the caves at Han-sur-Lesse are still in commercial use; four museums hold significant collections of rolling stock, including the museum at Schepdaal and the ASVi museum in Thuin. The longest (11 km (6.8 mi)) and oldest (40 years) tourist tramway is the Tramway Touristique de l'Aisne (TTA), between Érezée and Dochamps. A sponsoring group called "Tramania" has supported various tramway preservation initiatives for 13 years, in particular by financing the construction of the Thuin museum and car restoration for TTA.
- ^ a b c Nerincx, Alfred (January 1902). "The National Company of Light Railways in Belgium" (PDF). Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science. 19 (Commerce and Transportation). SAGE Publications in association with the American Academy of Political and Social Science: 108–113. ISSN 1552-3349. JSTOR 1009818. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
- ^ De Block, Greet (2015). "Urbanizing the Countryside: Rails, Workers and Commuting in South-West Flanders, Belgium, 1830–1930". In Divall, Colin (ed.). Cultural Histories of Sociabilities, Spaces and Mobilities (1st ed.). London and New York: Routledge. pp. 53–66. doi:10.4324/9781315653839. ISBN 9781315653839.