NMVB property at Ieper - 25 Mar 1996

The national bus and tram company of Belgium was formally titled Nationale Maatschappij van Buurtspoorwegen (NMVB) in Flemish and Société nationale des chemins de fer vicinaux (SNCV) in French. The company was created in the latter part of the 1800s as a secondary network to the mainline railways. It operated a vast countrywide light railway/tramway network providing rural villages with links to nearby towns for the benefit of the local people as well as for farmers and traders to move goods and produce around. Gradually road transport took over and buses replaced the trams. This building was once the NMVB railway station and now houses the offices as part of what is now the De Lijn bus garage in Haiglaan in Ieper. Both have a strong railway influence about them and are typical of the style of architecture employed throughout the country. The lettering under the dormer window reads ‘Buurtstatie Yperen’ in Flemish and ‘Station d Ypres’ in French. In Flemish/Dutch the word ‘buurt’ in both the company name and on the building translates to ‘neighbourhood’.