About this journey

The journey departs from Knokke station, the north-eastern terminus of the Kusttram, Belgium's coastal tramway operated by De Lijn. Knokke sits at the furthest north-eastern point of the Belgian coast, separated from the Netherlands by the Zwin nature reserve — a landscape shaped over centuries by the dike construction that gave the town its origins. By the early nineteenth century it had become an upscale resort, drawing visitors from Brussels and attracting artists including James Ensor.

The Urbos 100 tram, branded as the Zeelijner, runs the full coastal route south-west toward Oostende station, one of the Kusttram's principal hubs. That station opened in 1913 during the reign of King Albert I, built in a neoclassical style using Scottish granite, bluestone from Soignies and limestone from Euville. Its design reflected Oostende's historic function as a cross-Channel port: ferry services to Dover once connected with onward trains to London Victoria and London Charing Cross, a link that ceased in 1994. A daily Thalys service to Paris ran between 1998 and 31 March 2015, before ending as well. The journey moves between these two contrasting poles — a resort terminus born from reclaimed coastal land and a granite gateway station long oriented toward the sea crossings beyond.