De Lijn 2887 (0822 P) at Roesbrugge - 25 Mar 1996

Monday 25 March 1996 (1742) - De Lijn is the national bus and tram company of northern Belgium. In addition to employing numerous contractors to provide buses for its network, it also runs its own fleet.

This Van Hool A600 integral bus was seen in Roesbrugge when working the 1630 Ieper-Poperinge-Roesbrugge- Beveren-IJzer -Hoogstade Linde service 744. This trip runs Mondays to Fridays between Ieper and Beveren-IJzer extending to Hoogstade Linde on schooldays only. I believe the bus was number 2887 (0822 P) in De Lijn's own fleet that was new in January 1993.

Service 744 closely follows the route of the former Poperinge to Veurne tramway opened in the 1900s as part of the Belgian Government’s policy of providing transport in rural communities. The NMVB trams have long gone being replaced by buses – and NMVB has in turn was replaced by ‘De Lijn’ in 1991.

It is De Lijn practice to display details of the complete route for the relevant service, in this case Ieper-Poperinge-Roesbrugge-Veurne. But this 744 trip was not going to Veurne and the diagonal line through the service number tells that this is a short working. The ultimate destination is shown on a display close to the entrance door.

Between the camera and the bus is the bridge which spans the River IJzer (note the sign on the right). The river starts as l’Yser within France and enters Belgium flowing to the North Sea at Nieuwpoort. The river became the frontline during the First World War Battle of the Yser in October 1914 preventing German advancement.