De Lijn 3968 (DWL 020) in Poperinge - 3 Sep 2004

Friday 3 September 2004 at approx 1710 - 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.

Bus 3968 is a Jonckheere Transit 2000 bodied Volvo B10BLE, one of a batch of 150 such buses (numbers 3829-3978) placed in service during 2000 and 2001. It was seen picking up in Grote Markt, Poperinge 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. Belgian schools work quite late compared with those in England.

Even at this hour there are still quite a number of scholars patiently waiting their transport home in the background. 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The NMVB trams have long gone being replaced by buses – and NMVB has in turn been replaced by ‘De Lijn’.

Hotel Amfora, where we stayed on our regular visits, can be seen on the left. The patio area being one of the most relaxing places I can think of to sit and watch the world go by – and the De Lijn buses which from time to time stop outside! This particular time of day is the busiest.