The *LONGEST* tram route in the world! De Panne to Knokke (67km / 42 miles)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 8 มิ.ย. 2024
- At 67km / 42 miles, the Coastal Tram is the longest tram route in the world. The line follows the Belgian coast, from De panne, near the French border, to Knokke, near the Netherlands border. I visit De Panne, Nieuwpoort, oostende, blankenberge and zeebrugge. #coastaltram #depanne #oostende #zeebrugge
Filmed May 2023 | De Panne, Belgium.
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*** TIMESTAMPS:
00:00:00 Introduction
00:02:04 De Panne
00:06:23 Nieuwpoort
00:08:54 Oostende
00:14:11 Blankenberge Pier
00:20:53 Knokke
![Pretty or ugly? HRENSKO [CZ], Schmilka and the German border. The best and worst of Hrensko and area](/img/n.gif)
Another Planes and Trains, Everything banger. 🐐🐐🔥🔥
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I lived in De Panne 10 years ago, also took the coast tram several times to ostende and also Blankenberge. Those trams sure look a lot more modern, I was on the older models which was also nice. Really enjoyed your video, brought back some good memories. Thanks for sharing.
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AGREED!!!!! 10000% BANGER!!!!!!!!
which one is the real one
Fun fact: as of yesterday, this is now the /second/ longest tram route in the world! the longest is now in Los Angeles, from Azuma to Long Beach, created from the fusion of two existing lines with a new tunnel
lmao, that's not a tramline but a glorified metro.
@@PTB_BE It cannot be a metro because it has street running and a huge number of level crossings
@@OntarioTrafficMan it clearly is not a tram, light metro perhaps, heavy light rail even. But all but a tram.
@@PTB_BE it is a sneltram, also known as light rail. And so is the kusttram, which also operates on its own dedicated line.
@@OntarioTrafficMan the kusttram is all but a sneltram, it's a tram. The word sneltram comes from the GVB wanting to build another metroline but having severe opposition to it. Hence inventing the word "sneltram" which is a light metro.
The Coastal Tram is the last remaining route of the old Belgian Vicinal, a state-owned company set up to develop local, light railways in Belgium. Parts of the Charleroi metro use old Vicinal routes. About half of the network was electrified and ran on metre gauge tracks. The whole network was nearly 3000 miles in length, not bad for such a small country ! I remember seeing a Vicinal tram on its track beside the road when on a coach trip from Oostend. We were on holiday there in 1960
Next time you should visit De Haan. It's a lovely place with still a lot of the old art nouveau buildings standing compared to the other coastal towns, which are filled with new apartment developments.
And the tram stop at De Haan is the last surviving traditional 'Vicinal' station.
I was a driver on these trams for 3 years in the 1990's,
You have captured the Belgian coast atmosphere perfectly!
It definitely looks a lot nicer during summer..
Another interesting video. The pastries and the waffle looked top notch. Always good to see you properly fueled up!
Scott, I trust that you'll be trying the Edinburgh tram soon with it's new extension, opened today 07JUN2023. Cheers.
Native from Ostend here. It's a shame you didn't see the 'Zeeliedenmonument' or fisherman monument. It is a statue of a fierce looking man staring defiantly to the sea. And behind him is a grieving family reminding us of the many souls the North Sea has claimed. To me it really captures the spirit of Ostend. It brings tears to my eyes.
My great grandpa, Louis Guiot, was mayor in the interwar years, having distinguished himself at Ramskapelle stopping the German Race to the Sea. Commanding the western end of the last line of defence, the railway embankment between Nieupoort and Veurne, he held for long enough for the sea sluices to be blown, turning the Yser valley into the sea of mud which slowly extended as the river systems reverted to coastal marsh.
Happy you enjoyed your trip on our coastal tram. If you come again, make sure to stop in De Haan as well. I think it's among the prettiest spots; for once you don't have all those high-rise apartment buildings along the seafront. Oostende has lost out since the ferries to Dover stopped. If you look along the platform closest to the dockside, you can see the remnants of the long platforms used for the international boat trains to Cologne and all points beyond.
Spent many a long hour around the train station waiting for the ferry or jetfoil back to England. Used to enjoy seeing all the locomotive hauled trains lined up in the station all going to various European destinations. Was their one to Moscow ? Looks like the station has changed a lot since those days back in the late eighties / nineties.
Pre Channel Tunnel days I lived 60km from Dover, When the Jetfoil was still running I spent many happy days in Oostende and also longer trips with friends in Halle, Via Oostende was the quickest way for me to reach the Netherlands back then also.
The Jetfoil /Ferry to train Connection at Oostende was way closer and more convenient than at Calais and of course with a far more frequent train service!
@@paullbennett2923 There was an Oostende to Moscow service back in the 80s, I can't remember the exact details now, but it ran through Germany /Poland and in to the then Soviet Union at Brest on the present day Polish /Belarús border, where the through coach to Moscow had it's bogies changed to the Russian wider gauge. It also carried a Polish coach detached in Warsaw.
Ran only once or twice a week, and was named the Ost- West express.
Perhaps some viewer still has a timetable from the era with full details?
Such a shame there is no dover oostende service now. Done the ferry many times wished I'd done the jet foil
@@Eurobrasil550 Many of these services ran daily to West Berlin, thrice-weekly to Warsaw and Moscow.
Nice! A year ago I did the same, but we started at Oostende and made a return trip to both ends (thankfully the weather was better at the time). I found the old trams to be more comfortable. There's one at 01:55
Once again an interesting video, but spoiled by the adverts during the video!!!
Los Angeles took that personally.
Neiwport well worth a visit. It was on the front line in the first world war hence the damage. The king stayed in de panne virtually the only piece not occupied
Those gulls have no fear. If you looked away for just a second, it would snatch that waffle right out of your hands.
Knocke is a nice town too worth a visit.
Amazing video! As a fellow Belgian my favorite place has to be De Haan definitely check it out next time it's very worth it and unique!
nice old houses yes
Great video . I have only visited Belgium once since the tram line was installed but sadly didn’t have time to go on it as stopped in De Panne for lunch and a walk before heading to the ferry . The tram hopefully helps reduce the number of people driving to or between resorts as in hot weather I remember it being really hard to find a parking space , that was during visits in the 90s . Belgium is a great country to visit
Pity the weather was a bit ropey, but you did introduce us to the charms of the varied towns along the way, and as you said, some need a return visit, maybe in spring or autumn. I have travelled part of that tram journey, but never "end to end".
Belgium in a very underrated country to visit
Underrated? You have never been to Bruges?! It's highly popular, but most have no clue it's in Belgium...
@@BrechtBonne Let's keep it that way, let the masses go to Bruges. Plus let British school keep sending there high schoolers to the Westhoek, arguably the most depressing (WWI was slightly more of a bummer than the Charleroi coal mines) part of the country, so that Belgium has a reputation of being boring and depressing. Result will be that the rest of the country will be a bit hidden for mass/over tourism.
@@BrechtBonne Yes, underrated. Most foreign visitors (even European ones) just focus on Brussels and Bruges or skip it altogether. They just have no idea of what to expect, no image of the country - apart from the usual clichés: language disputes, beer and chocolate.
Charleroi is not lmao
You have lots of interesstings points in belgium : Bruges, Gand, Brussels, Liége, "Les Ardennes", Antwerp, ...)
You have skipped de Haan (between Oostende and Blankenberge), probably the nicest place on the route. You can expect Hercule Poirot to jump out of any corner due to the amount of Art Deco buildings and scenes.
the most famous belgian that actually never existed
Thanks for your explorations!
4:40 - How dare you show us all that glorious food without trying any 😅 the Macaroni Ham Kaas alone looks far too good to have been ignored
That was my choice too!
Love your videos could watch them for days
Belgium looks like a nice place to go. It's definitely on my list to visit.
Just skip Brussels. It's boring and ugly.
If you want to visit the beautiful side of Belgium, definitely go to Brugge (Bruges), which is stunning.
@@OverSoft Clearly visited the wrong places in Brussels then. You can call the city a lot of things, but definitely not boring. Especially when compared to Bruges.
@@OverSoft ugly and boring? Just came back from Brussels it's literally a mini Paris, very beautiful and always something is going on.
depends here you are going. Some parts are shameful, full of homeless and addicts. But the touristic places are fun. Lots of smiling tourists and life.
I've always wanted to try this, thanks for the vid
Great video Scott as ever.
Top notch humour, thank you!
Awesome!! Thanks for the video Scott, it’s really made me want to go and check out the Belgian coast.
If you want an ugly coast line, visit ours in Belgium then. We tend to go to the Netherlands for nice seaside.
Very interesting thanks
The coast tram is great. Always gets busy round about ostend though
very coool
Another great video and a lot of interesting places on the way I hope you can get back to do this again in Summer when the weather is in your favour
Great video 👍
Oooh nice that you visit my country again! You should do that more often!
The Belgian coast is an almost uninterrupted line of large appartment blocks, where once was open space, fishing villages or nice Art Nouveau villas. We call it the Atlantikwall.
Nieuwpoort is nice! It was where the Belgian army was when they defended the last part of unoccupied territory in WW1. The locks had been opened, so the area before the city was flooded and the Germans couldn't advance further. A bit like what happened in Ukraine now. There is a large war monument in Nieuwpoort.
I noticed that the coastal tram is exclusively the latest model of tram in Flanders. It has been only in service since a few months and the coast only has this model??! They're spoilt. In Ghent and especially Antwerp there are still many older models driving around, since there aren't enough new ones.
The Atlantikwall of appartment blocks, and the original 1st and 2nd world war chunk of what it's named after. Slightly disappointed he didn't spot that, the kusttram goes right past it.
At 1:55 you can still spot the old chunky tram but yeah, seems like all the other trams are already the new models. They switched those out very fast indeed
The new trams are good... for short trips. For the up to 2 hours from De Panne to Knokke, it's a bit too spartan.
@@barvdw I don’t think a lot of people actual use the tram the whole way
Wow some amazing looking buildings
Blankenberge also deserves a proper visit too.
You were in one of my favourite places. We've hopped on and off that tram many times, and had a guide dog sleep on our feet for a good hour of the journey on one memorable day. I wouldn't say it's always wet...but the funfair in Oostende is full of prize bears, well clad in wellies, yellow rainproof jackets and stout souwesters. The fish stalls you found are sometimes part of a long line of outdoor fish stands (maybe on Sundays?) so you could definitely find lots more seafood there. I hope you got some time to spare in Knokke, which is beautiful.
The quality of these videos really is superb.
I subscribe to The Macmaster too, and Lee's too are excellent. Real quality.
Similarly Walk With Tim.
I never watch TV, I watch talented folk like Scott and all the above.
Of which I thank you.
Subscribe to Steve Marsh if you like these kind of videos. He's great.
Some years ago i walked from de panne to knokke and returned with the tram. unplanned, we just kept on walking, knowing we could always return with the tram if we got to tired.
I love De Panne, great little city, amazing beaches and the world's best roller coaster at Plopsaland de Panne "The Ride to Happiness".
Hi Scott, another great video. Thank you for visiting our 'Atlantikwall'. You talked about a 2nd visit to Nieuwpoort. Maybe combine it with Veurne and Ieper ? That last city having been completely rebuilt in the 1920's (not a stone was left standing in 1918). As to the EUR 2,50 ticket cost : you can use it for an hour, even on connections (and finish the last ride if it runs over an hour). Or do a daypass at EUR 7,50 - valid on all 'De Lijn' trams and busses.
From a colleague travel agent with nearly 40 years on the clock : keep doing these great vids.
There's also a cap when using the same bank card, like with Oyster Card in London, so you'll never pay more than that day ticket.
You missed the unique feature of this tramway. At three places,, one in Ostende, and two in Zebrugger, there are alternative routes for the tram to take when the swing / lifting bridges are opened.
Definitely a must try, given the places it leads to.
Another good video, you fair get about 👍
I love interurban trams. My city also had an interurban line with the neighboring town, about 18 kilometers long.
It's funny watching this. Our family used to holiday in Ostend pretty regularly in the 1960s and early 70s (when you could get there directly from Dover via a ferry). Looking into going to Ostend now, it seems that it's either via the Chunnel or to Zeebrugge by ferry then by this tram down the coast!!! But the main thing that interested me was seeing De Panne - which I only just remember from being a wee land in 1966 - as my memory of it was as a tiny and quaint seaside town. It looks a lot bigger now! Great video, many thanks.
Great video. Just goes to show how well they do trams in Europe. By the way, I think I’ve become a curryvurst fan when I was in Austria & Germany last week. Two different ways of presenting curryvurst, in Germany I had fried potatoes in an Austrian cafe it came with a bread roll. Anyway it was great.
I'm taking this exact route first week of July, I am getting off the ferry at Dunkirk and cycling along to De Panne where I will leave my bike and do a hop on hop off right to the Netherlands border, from there I'll make my way down to Bruges. I'll continue to Sluis then on to Eindhoven, down to Luxembourg then to Brussels and up to De Panne and back. Two weeks of fun fun fun!
People have mentioned De Haan. There is also some Albert Einstein related tourism to be seen there. He lived there for six months in 1933 at 3 Shakespearelaan, Villa Savoyarde. There's also a statue of him sitting on a park bench.
I'm a huge fan of Cycling and of course that means seeing lots of Belgium, but you've opened my eyes to a good bit more...I may just have to visit
GOAT
In the US, the Metro A Line in Los Angeles is the newest longest running light rail line in the world with 48.5 miles of track and it also currently has another 12.3 miles of track currently under construction and is set to open in 2025.
Food looked lovely, Belgium coastline miserable in that rain
The tram can be even cheaper! If you get a 10 ticket card, it's 17€, so 1,70€ each ride.
Zeebrugge brings back memories - but only of passing through LOL - used to catch the ferry from Felixstowe then on to Brussels, or once - Aachen.
17:41 they called Leilinde in Dutch and you also will find them quite a lot in the Netherlands. And as the name already suggests they are linden trees.
I feel you were there on a mongrel day Scottie, the views on the beaches would have been splendid on a sunny day. But who can
predict the weather, or choose the weather whilst travelling. It's making the best of being somewhere, be it a beautiful day or a
dead set mongrel of a day. Thank you for sharing excursions through all kinds of weather ole sausage!
Did that clock strike 17, lol
one thing i always establish his how far the uk his behind the times watching your clips,seems too be one thing in uk , how many houses can we build !short term wealth building for the few long term planning for the majority nil!
"Unless you have developed an interest in container terminals" ah, I shall have to visit Zeebrugge some time then...
3 hours of amazing views. Lovely video, thanks for sharing.
So you love seafood, but all I ever see you eat is pastry pizza and coffee, really enjoyed this video, cheers Scott
All the times I went to the tobacco shops and never bothered going into de panne, I love Belgian houses they all look so immaculate
Maybe not a beautiful route but certainly an interesting one. Think I saw every style of architecture represented along the way. Really fancy a shot on this tram. Your seagull pal could still have downed a seafood platter after his waffle I imagine...
It's defo an interesting jouney. There aren't too many countries where you can travel the full length of it's coast by tram.
@SteveMarsh In the summer this area actually is quite nice to visit. The not so good weather made everything look more bleak than it really is. It can be very busy as well in the summer months as this part of Belgium attracts a lot of tourists in the summer. 🙂
@@boilingwateronthestove interesting, I wonder if land and property would be cheaper just across the border in France, having much more land area, coast and lesser population density than Belgium?
@@djmark143 I remember in the 70s and 80s day trips with special trains from Luxembourg city to Oostende, a long day out for them!
@@Eurobrasil550 they're still there, I believe, special charters from Luxembourg, but I thought they go to Blankenberge nowadays.
Zeebrugge does also seem to have a few very nice older boats which are not ferries... and a great variety of draw/turn/lift and other bridges...
but yes, it's mostly just a giant freight port with a smattering of ocean-ferries...
Ive watched for about a year, id rather ye didnt make a plan and just see how it goes, your videos are really Great, Michael from northern Ireland
Great video as always! Done a few bits of this journey but will definitely return for more. A question: did you have to tap your card everytime you entered a new tram, or did your first tap of the day allow you to hop on and off?
Love the stepped gables on the roofs of the old Flemish buildings. I cycled up that coast from Zeebrugge all the way to Ijmuiden on a couple of occasions. Some gorgeous towns on the way. Thanks again, Scott. That was fun!
Love the vide, love Oostende. We’ve not been since 2019 and now our favourite hotel, Hotel Melinda, has closed post Covid. We are hoping to visit again soon however.
If you take the tram with sunny weather and wind you drive over the beach, its a amazing, with sand dunes agains the rails.
you got me interested...when i am in EUROPE this summer...i just might try this tram
The trees are called Linde in Dutch, or Common Lime or Linden in English.
Are these trees the same trees that line the famous Unter den Linden in Berlin?
Never knew such tram existed. I’ve seen one in Hungary between 2 towns in the south east. It was about 20 miles long. Safe journey.
great video , done that tram a few times . when the weather is nice its a great way of spending a sunny day
Oohhh great, I'd love to see more of Belgian Newport, compare it to home, hah
I like your pronunciation of Knokke. I was actually waiting for you to call it "Nokke"". Well done.
Do you like his Dee Pan too?
@@simonh6371 I actually didn't notice it as i was looking forward to see/hear Knokke. Where De Panne is concerned every letter is pronounced just like in Porsche.
In Oostende cathedral there is a monument to the first queen of Belgium a very large stone sculpture (made by my distant relative) well worth a look. Also the Oostende museum where the queen died in her holiday home. Great video again!
Not really a cathedral, just a larger church. The cathedral is in Brugge.
@@barvdw oh ok I stand corrected 😊
@@luckystrike1999 No, it was a cathedral in the 1920s. Granny was the mayor's eldest daughter, her sis was Natural Sciences tutor to the Royal Family, and so they were close to the monarchy. The society wedding of the year - so the Church got involved, special catechistic training for the head of a good catholic household in Pagan England. It went downhill suddenly when the rather famous cleric involved tried to take the "droits de cuissage", and discovered like father, like daughter, dad had stopped the Germans, one priest was no challenge, rumour had it his undercart was never the same again. Gran was caught throwing her things into a bag, swearing she'd marry in a Registry Office. Negotiations followed, the wedding went ahead on the strict understanding Rome would never impose on the family again - which lasted exactly three generations, in the events which triggered the Watermael-Boitsfort upheaval of the early years of this century.
You need to check the tram cost in Sofia. I remember paying 70 cent and there was a lot of character in the older trams. I would recommend a trip
That was a great journey, Scott. Brought back many happy memories for me as I used to visit Oostende regularly when there was a regular Sealink RTM ferry service from Dover. It made for a lovely few days especially in the summer. The beaches are fabulous, along with the cafes and bars. Now you have given me the idea to re-visit old haunts. Thanks so much for bringing us along.
If you want to reduce the flickering of the artificial lights in your video, set your video recording framerate to 25 fps or 50 fps; not 30 or 60.
i did a video myself on that tram 2 years ago at least the weather improved on my journey, and for some reason those same modern tram models now are in Antwerp has well.
De Panne station is actually in Adenkerke. From there a free bus runs regularly across the border to near Dunkirk (all buses in Dunkirk are free).
And Plopsaland .. lol lol lol
1981, we took the ferry to Ostend and stayed in De Haan.
It's a bit foggy, I guess the people on "that island" would say: "The continent is out-of-sight" 😁 I've been thinking about doing this ride, but will probably miss it (as being the longest), I think the new line in Los Angeles will be longer (and opens shortly, I think).
Try country tram from Vorchdorf to Gmunden, Austria. Also very cool :)
Thank you. The Crimean Trolleybus line from Simferopol to Yalta, Ukraine is 53 miles, 2 hours 30 minutes, very scenic descending to Yalta.
Closer to home you can now get the new Edinburgh tram extension under the belt to Leith.
The beaches in Belgium and Holland must be the most underrated in Europe.
They are not underrated, they are usually filled with Germans.
I was in de Panne last Sunday ... got sunburned.
Hello from a fellow buddie
Nice video. Will try to do the same too.
Remember catching the ferry from Dover to Ostend
Been to blankenberge 4 years friendly people
the pointy heart shaped leaves and abundant low growth suggests Lime Trees or "Linden Trees"
I think the longest is in Crimaia from Symferopol to Sevastopol something like 100 km
When in Belgium , head down to Liege and get the train to Eupen where they speak German .
And I thought Porto to Póvoa do Varzim at 30+ km was long.