Belgian railway line 50

The Belgian railway line 50 is a railway line in Belgium connecting Brussels to Ghent. The first section between Ghent and Schellebelle was finished in 1837, offering a connection to Brussels through Dendermonde and Mechelen. The section between Schellebelle and Brussels was completed on 1 May 1856.[1]

Belgian railway line 50
A train at Denderleeuw station in 1987
Overview
Status	Operational
Locale	Belgium
Termini	Brussels-North railway station Gent-Sint-Pieters railway station
Service
Operator(s)	National Railway Company of Belgium
History
Opened	1837-1856
Technical
Line length	56 km (35 mi)
Number of tracks	double track
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Electrification	3 kV DC
Route map Line from Brussels-South 0.0 Brussels-North Line to Namur Line to Antwerp and Leuven Brussels–Scheldt Maritime Canal to Brussels-West 3.2 Bockstael from Brussels-West 4.1 Jette to Dendermonde 7.6 Berchem-Sainte-Agathe 8.9 Groot-Bijgaarden 11.0 Dilbeek 13.7 Sint-Martens-Bodegem 16.7 Ternat 20.3 Essene-Lombeek Line Ghent – Brussels-South 21.9 Liedekerke River Dender from Ath 23.8 Denderleeuw to Oudenaarde Line Brussels-South – Ghent 26.7 Erembodegem River Dender River Dender 29.7 Aalst to Zottegem 34.5 Lede 37.0 Serskamp from Dendermonde 40.3 Schellebelle 43.1 Wetteren 46.9 Kwatrecht from Brussels-South from Geraardsbergen 49.5 Melle Ringvaart 52.6 Merelbeke Line to Antwerp River Scheldt Line from Brussels-South 55.6 Gent-Sint-Pieters Line to Kortrijk Line to Bruges

A section between Ghent and Ostend was completed in 1838 and is named line 50A. Between 1923 and 1933, the line 50A was extended to Brussels, which provides a fast connection between Brussels and Ghent.[2] Where the original line 50 enters Brussels from the North, after passing through the city and station of Aalst, the later 50A enters Brussels from the South; this allows through trains from the West of the country to the East or vice versa without having to reverse. In 2016, line 50A was widened with two extra tracks, labelled 50C, between Denderleeuw and Brussels; the main reason was the increase in traffic from the GEN/RER commuter trains.[3]

The following stations are located on the original line 50:

• Brussels-North
• Bockstael
• Jette
• Berchem-Sainte-Agathe
• Groot-Bijgaarden
• Dilbeek
• Sint-Martens-Bodegem
• Ternat
• Essene Lombeek
• Liedekerke
• Denderleeuw
• Erembodegem
• Aalst
• Lede
• Serskamp
• Schellebelle
• Wetteren
• Kwatrecht
• Melle
• Merelbeke
• Gent-Sint-Pieters

A new station Station COOVI was built in Anderlecht, near the COOVI/CERIA campus; it entered service with the updated schedules on 14 December 2020, with an hourly service by the S3 line of the Brussels Regional Express Network.