De Lijn contractor - Gruson Autobus 357141 (KWK 218) in Poperinge - 23 Aug 2003

Saturday 23 August 2003 (approx. 1200) - Gruson Autobus 357141 (KWK 218) was seen in Ieperstraat, Poperinge when working the 1102 De Lijn service 69b to Ieper. It was a Mercedes-Benz O 345 Connecto that was new in March 2003.
Service 69b had its origins as a Belgian Railways substitution service running through to Abele on the Belgian-French border. The railway service into Poperinge from Kortrijk etc is numbered 69 and the section of railway on the closed section west of Poperinge to Abele became bus service 69b. The Belgian Railways bus services were taken over by De Lijn around 1991.

Gruson Autobus works a number of contracts on behalf of De Lijn, the national bus and tramway company of northern Belgium.

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.