Transportation in Belgium
Railways
total: 3,437 km (2,446 km electrified; 2,563 km double track)
standard gauge: 3,437 km 1.435-m gauge (1998)
NMBS/SNCB is the National Railway Company of Belgium.
Trains, unlike road traffic, run on the left.
City with metro system: 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
Antwerp (one of the world's busiest ports), Brugge, Gent, Hasselt, Liege, Mons, Namur, Ostend, Zeebrugge
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
42 (1999 est.)
Airports - with paved runways
total:
24
over 3,047 m:
6
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.)
Airports - with unpaved runways
total:
18
914 to 1,523 m:
2
under 914 m:
16 (1999 est.)
Heliports
1 (1999 est.)Reference
Much of the material in this article comes from the CIA World Factbook 2000.
