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Dunkirk - De Panne?

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reb0118

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On a road atlas of the Benelux countries (which also covers the border regions of neighbouring countries) in my possession there is shown a railway from Dunkirk (FR) to De Panne (BEL) which is not shown however on my Thomas Cook European Rail Map.


Does the forum have any info of the status of this line?


Also what is the status of the direct line from Rijsel/Lille to Komen/Comines on the Franco - Belgian border? Does the line still run between the French & Belgian stations?

Cheers!
 
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Oscar

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I don't think that there are any passenger services between Dunkerque and De Panne (where the Kusttram starts) but I'm sure that there is a bus. I'll look this up for you.
Bus timetable - http://www.dkbus.com/ftp/FR_libre1/Fiche Horaire dukerque oostend.pdf
No passenger rail services. The railway still exists but is disused. You can see a photo herre: http://www.panoramio.com/photo/17468660
There are still a few trains a day between Lille Flandres and Comines (France) but no cross-border services there. TER Nord-Pas-de-Calais will give you details. Timetable here: http://telechargement.ter-sncf.com/Images/Nord_Pas_De_Calais/Tridion/FH_ligne5_2012_tcm-26-18254.pdf
More regular services operate between Lille Flandres and Comines (Belgium) via Kortrijk (change of trains) - see the NMBS / SNCB (Belgian Railways) site for more information.
 
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Firesprite

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reb0118

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Thanks for all the links guys. I was in the Calais region last month but headed down the other way via Boulogne & Amiens. When I go back again I will head out towards the Belgian border - it's a shame there is not a through rail connection along the coast.

Thanks again.
 

tripleseis

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Driven that way many times. The disused railway crosses the road right by the old FR-BE border post in Bray Dunes (which is now a Leonidas shop). Part of the railway serves a large cement works in Leffrinckoucke I believe which is still connected to the SNCF network. Take the D60 road from Dunkirk if you wanna take a look. It's a fairly quiet and pleasant drive because all the traffic uses the nearby motorway now.

It would be a useful connection to reinstate as De Panne station isn't too far from the border anyway and there appeared to be many French people in De Panne when I visited last month (I gather locals just popping over the border for a day trip). There's definitely a bus service between Dunkirk and De Panne not sure how well patroned it is though. De Panne is the terminus of the Kusttram so it's only a short ride into town. The SNCB 73 line from De Panne goes all the way to Ghent via Lichtervelde so anybody wanting Bruges for example can easily change there but I gather it will still be quicker to go by road to Bruges from Nord-Pas de Calais.
 
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