De Lijn contractor - Gruson Autobus 357141 (KWK 218) in Poperinge - 24 Aug 2003

Sunday 24 August 2003 (approx. 1800) – On board Gruson Autobus 357141 (KWK 218), a Mercedes-Benz O 345 Connecto that was new in March 2003, which was working the De Lijn service 69b from Ieper to Abele.

De Lijn (Vlaamse Vervoersmaatschappij De Lijn) was created in 1991 from the northern part of NMVB (Nationale Maatschappij van Buurtspoorwegen). The company operates its own large bus and tram fleet which carry four digit fleet numbers but the buses operated by contractors carry six digit fleet numbers – the first four digits relate to the De Lijn contract number with the final two digits are the operators own fleet number.

Service 69b had its origins as a substitution service for the Poperinge-Abele railway. The rail service into Poperinge from Kortrijk via Ieper was numbered 69. The replacing bus service west of Poperinge to Abele became bus service 69b. Gruson had operated the service under contract to Belgian Railways (NMBS) from about 1950. The NMBS bus services were taken over by De Lijn around 1991.