Transportation and communications in Belgium
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Belgium |
As a center of trade, Belgium has an excellent transportation system, composed of waterways, railroad networks, and highways. The chief access to the sea for Belgian shipping is via the Schelde and Meuse estuaries, which lie within the territory of Netherlands. Antwerp, on the Schelde River, although some 84 km (52 mi) from the sea, is one of the busiest ports in Europe. Antwerp is also the transit harbor for the Rhineland and northern France. Because of their slow currents and regular flow, the rivers of Belgium are generally navigable and provide easy communication between regions. The Belgian rivers are connected by an important system of canals. The aggregate length of canals and navigable rivers totals about 1,520 km (about 940 mi). |
Supplementing the waterways is a system of 150,567 km (93,558 mi) of roads. There are 3,374 km (2,097 mi) of railroad track, which are state owned. Belgium has one of the world’s densest railroad systems. Sabena was the Belgian national airline until it filed for bankruptcy in 2001. SN Brussels Airline succeeded Sabena the following year. French- and Dutch-language broadcast services are provided by the government, with costs defrayed through annual license fees on receiving sets; commercial broadcasting is also permitted. Each of the language communities regulates its own broadcasts. Many foreign broadcasts are also received. |
Some 29 daily newspapers are published. Newspapers appear in the Dutch, French, and German languages. Encarta |
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