Happenings In Halle - But Which One? (2)

Name the River In Brussels!

The River Senne flows through the centre of Brussels running between Gare du Midi and Gare du Nord. But you would never know from street level as it was all all hidden underground from the late 1830s onwards.

Below was a busy tram and road junction in the past, now pedestrianised ...

... with the remnants of  The Senne in pipes "down below".

Travel south from the capital and you will come to Halle (Belgium), also on the River Senne. What is left of the river runs through pleasant wooded areas in the centre of the town ...

Indeed this stream a k a ditch comes to a dead stop north of the city centre (below lower left) ...

It reappears again a tad further north, passing an old mill now replaced by a shiny new block of flats.

Its course is interrupted by the massive Brussels to Charleroi canal, once the commercial life-blood of Halle.

A stroll along the western bank reveals a long row of todays' residences many of which were once commercial premises.

Look across to the east bank of the canal and you will see one of these ...

... a curved roof. This is what the building looks like, side on ...

... and, once on the east bank, a view from the south.

"Can you tell what it is yet?"

Maybe you can guess? 

It's Halle's railway station, innit?

As well as the new concourse, a big chunk of the tracks was roofed over to create the splendid esplanade pictured above. At track level, Halle station is not very interesting at all.

If you are struggling with the geography (fbb was!) this map may help.

Having worked out where we are, we can step outside the overall roof where, of course, we will find a splendid bus station.

It doesn't take too long to work out that Halle is a two horse border town, pardner. (pause for atmospheric "YeeeHaa".)

By which drivel fbb means that two bus operators meet in the town. Nearest the station entrance is TEC.

Opérateur de transport de Wallonie (OTW) (Transport Operator of Wallonia), formerly Société régionale wallonne du transport (SRWT) (Walloon Regional Transport Company), is responsible for the supervision, strategic planning and marketing of a group of five regional public transport directorates branded as TEC or "Transport En Commun" (Public Transport) in Wallonia, Belgium. It is primarily a bus operator, but also operates the Charleroi tram system. TEC buses and trams are distinctively painted yellow and red.

TEC was founded in 1991 through the breakup of the former Belgian SNCV into separate companies for Wallonia (French speaking, TEC) and Flanders (Flemish speaking, De Lijn - it is NOT Dutch). SNCV was once the operator of rural and interurban tram services throughout Belgium, Tramways Vicinaux. Both TEC and De Lijn are nationalised.

TEC runs three routes south from Halle.

De Lijn buses are cream (off white?) with yellow splodges.

Vlaamse Vervoersmaatschappij De Lijn (English: Flemish transport company De Lijn), usually known as De Lijn], "The Line"), is a company run by the Flemish government in Belgium to provide public transportation with about 2240 buses and 399 trams. De Lijn was founded in 1991 after the public transportation companies of Antwerp and Ghent fused with the Flemish part of the NMVB (Nationale Maatschappij van Buurtspoorwegen, or the "National Company of Neighborhood Railways").

Although Brussels itself is officially bi-lingual, language is still a sensitive issue in Belgium. When Tramways Vicinaux (which also ran buses) was split, it was to match the "language barrier" between the Walloons and the Flemings.

De Lign's routes thus run north towards Brussels within the Flemish speaking area.

Note that De Lijn does show the three TEC routes from Halle (114, 116, 471) on their map, but reciprocation does not happen!

If you are an inhabitant in Halle, inevitably you have to refer to two web sites if you wish to travel across the border between French and Flemish territory. 

But this Halle bus station is fine and splendid, but not outstanding in design. So there must be another one!

 Next Halle blog : Friday 5th February