The Kusttram in Belgium

Updated 18 October 2025. Reason for update: Inclusion of details about the Los Angeles Metro A Line, which is now the longest tram line in the world.

The header image is from the 1920s and shows a tram in Wenduine.

This post is about the Kusttram interurban tram service (the Coast Tram) that links the towns and smaller communities along the West Flanders coast of Belgium. The Kusttram, with 67 stops and 67 kilometres in length, is now the second-longest tram route in the world after the A Line in Los Angeles at 92.7 kilometres.

Note: The extension of the Los Angeles Metro A Line was completed in September 2025, and it has a track length of 92.7 kilometres.

The Kusttram is the remaining part of the original, mainly narrow-gauge Vicinal tramway (Buurtspoorwegen in Dutch, meaning neighbourhood tramway or railway) that once covered the whole of Belgium.

The poster shown is dated between 1899 and 1914. Image in public domain. Via Wikimedia.

Poster advertising the Belgium coast. — Poster advertising the Belgium coast

There is debate about whether the Los Angeles Metro A Line is a tram line or a light rail line. For me, it’s a tram line. However, I believe a British transport professional would most likely refer to the Los Angeles Metro A Line as a “light rail line” or a “light metro”. Therefore, in my thinking, describing both of these lines as tramways is correct.

Is the Kusttram a tourist attraction, a functional transport system or a mixture of these?

That depends on how you view tramway history and the need to get from A to B. The historical aspects of trams, tramways, and railways are a niche subject, whether they relate to the Kusttram or to any tramway system with a long-standing history.

There is an interesting article titled “The Uniquely ‘Urban’ Coastal Tram – Kusttram” that discusses this topic on the PUTSPACE website. The author and her group of colleagues relate their experience of travelling the route between De Panne and Blankenberge. The party struck up conversations with tramway and tourist information officials, asking whether and to what extent the tram is part of a tourist attraction. The answers they received were that the tram was there purely as a practical means of getting from A to B.

The party also visited the old tramway depot, which functions as a tramway museum. I was amazed to discover that, as far as I could tell from a Google search, this museum does not have a website, and it is not even mentioned on the official Kusttram website.

It is evident from the party’s recollections of their museum visit that they encountered a dedicated team of tramway enthusiasts taking great care to preserve the old rolling stock. You can read about this and see photographs taken at the museum on the PUTSPACE website linked to above.

Whatever the view of officials working for this tramway, numerous websites describe the Kusttram as both a functional means of transport and a tourist tramway of historical value. At the time of writing, Tripadvisor’s reviewers give the Kusttram 4 out of 5 stars for functionality and tourist value.

A map of the Kusttram line between Adinkerke and Knokke

Click the map image to see a full-size PDF version of the map. External link.

Map attribution: creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ © Christian Stade.

Unofficial map of the Kusttram. — Unofficial map of the Kusttram

The Kusttram through the ages

Horse drawn tram in De Panne

A horse-drawn tram on Avenue de la Mer in De Panne. Dated to before 1912.

Postcard scanned by Claude_villetaneuse, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Electric tram at De Haan aan Zee / Coq-sur-Mer

An electric tram passing through De Hann aan Zee, which translates in English to The rooster by the sea. The town is known by Belgian French speakers as Le Coq-sur-Mer. The image is from the 1920s.

Postcard scanned by Claude_villetaneuse, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

A tram in Wenduine

This image of a Tram in Wenduine is thought to date from the 1920s.

Unknown author, Postcard in public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

A tram in Wenduine

This scene is thought to date from before World War II.

Unknown author, Postcard in public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Boulevard de Nieuwpoort in De Panne

Unknown author. Postcard in public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

A tram stop in Blankenberge

Postcard scanned by Claude_villetaneuse, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

A PCC tram dating from 1948

Prototype PCC motor tram being tested on line 13 of the Knokke network at the terminus of Knokke station.

Image attribution: Photographie Frans Keutgens – Collection Michel Reps, CC BY-SA 4.0 creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

A tram at Knokke Station

The photograph shows a Kusttram tram at Knokke Station.

Image attribution: Claude Villetaneuse, CC BY-SA 3.0 creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

At the old tram depot museum in Knokke

Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0) Jean-Philippe Dheure via Flickr.

Heritage open day at the old tram depot in 2018

1 Heritage open day at the old tram depot. — Heritage open day at the old tram depot

2 Heritage open day at the old tram depot. — Heritage open day at the old tram depot

3 Heritage open day at the old tram depot. — Heritage open day at the old tram depot

4 Heritage open day at the old tram depot. — Heritage open day at the old tram depot

The above four black and white photographs are by #PhilipppeCPhoto (Philippe Clabots). They are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, via Flickr at www.flickr.com/search/?text=%23PhilippecPhoto%20de%20panne.

If you notice and errors in this article, please contact me.