Belgian railway line 59

The Belgian railway line 59 is a railway line in Belgium connecting Antwerp with Ghent. It was opened between 1844 and 1847. Until 1970, the eastern terminus of the railway was a station on the left bank of the river Scheldt, opposite the city centre of Antwerp. Since 1970, the railway is connected to Antwerp central station by a rail tunnel under the Scheldt. The total length of the line between Antwerpen-Berchem and Gent-Dampoort (the section between Gent-Dampoort and Gent-Sint-Pieters is part of line 58 Ghent – Eeklo) is 55.8 km.^[1]

Belgian railway line 59
Overview
Status	Operational
Locale	Belgium
Termini	Antwerpen-Berchem railway station Gent-Dampoort railway station
Service
Operator(s)	National Railway Company of Belgium
History
Opened	1844-1970
Technical
Line length	56 km (35 mi)
Number of tracks	double track
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Electrification	3 kV DC
Route map Legend Line from Antwerpen-Centraal Line to Roosendaal 0.0 Antwerpen-Berchem Line to Brussels 4.0 Antwerpen-Zuid to Puurs River Scheldt 9.1 Zwijndrecht freight line to port of Antwerp 12.1 Melsele 14.0 Beveren 19.5 Nieuwkerken-Waas from Mechelen 22.7 Sint-Niklaas 27.1 Belsele 28.7 Sinaai 35.7 Lokeren to Dendermonde 43.6 Beervelde freight line from port of Ghent from Eeklo 55.8 4.0 Gent-Dampoort River Scheldt 2.0 Gentbrugge Line from Denderleeuw Line from Brussels Gent-Sint-Pieters Line to Kortrijk Line to Bruges

Stations

The main interchange stations on line 59 are:

• Antwerpen-Berchem: to Antwerp, Roosendaal, Lier and Brussels
• Sint-Niklaas: to Mechelen
• Lokeren: to Dendermonde
• Gent-Dampoort: to Gent-Sint-Pieters and Eeklo