Editing Transport in Belgium (section)

==Road transport==

===Road network===
[[File:Lijn11 a12.jpg|thumb|280px|The [[A12 road (Belgium)|A12]] with a railway in the centre.]]
The road network in Belgium is managed by regional authorities, meaning that a road section in Flanders is managed by the [[Flemish Government]], a road section in Brussels by the [[Government of the Brussels-Capital Region|Brussels government]] and a road section in Wallonia by the [[Walloon Government]]. This explains that road signs in Flanders are written in Dutch, even when referring to a Walloon region, and conversely, which can be confusing for foreigners who do not know the different translations of Flemish or Walloon cities in the other language. The road network in Belgium is made of highways, national (or regional) roads (the secondary network) and communal roads (or streets). Communal roads are managed at the municipal level. There are also a number of orbital roads in Belgium around major cities.

* ''total:'' 152,256&nbsp;km (2006)
* ''country comparison to the world:'' 35
* ''paved:'' 119,079&nbsp;km (including 1,763&nbsp;km of expressways)
* ''unpaved:'' 33,177&nbsp;km

Belgian road numbering evolved during the middle decades of the twentieth century, in a relatively inconsistent way. Road number allocations became less systematic during the surge in road building that took place in the 1960s and 70s. Frequently downgraded and deteriorating older national roads retained two digit numbers while newer major roads were identified with less instantly memorable three digit numbers, if only because the shorter numbers were already taken. 1985 saw a comprehensive renumbering of the "N" (National) roads which now followed the scheme described below.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wegen-routes.be/hist/histsign.html|title=Wegen-Routes.be: Bewegwijzering en wegnummering in België|website=Wegen-routes.be|access-date=30 August 2017}}</ref>

====Highways====
{{main|List of motorways in Belgium}}
[[Image:Autosnelwegen België.svg|right|thumb|upright=2.0|[[List of motorways in Belgium|Motorways in Belgium]]]]

The highways (motorways) in Belgium are marked with a letter '''A''' and a number. Most often however the European numbering system for the [[international E-road network]] is used. There is however not always a one-on-one relationship between the two numbering systems along the whole length of the highways.

*[[A1 road (Belgium)|A1]] ([[European route E19|E19]]): [[Brussels]] - [[Antwerp]] - [[Breda]]
*[[A2 motorway (Belgium)|A2]] ([[European route E314|E314]]): [[Leuven]] - [[Lummen]] - [[Genk]]
*[[A3 road (Belgium)|A3]] ([[European route E40|E40]]): [[Brussels]] - [[Leuven]] - [[Liège]] - [[Aachen]]
*[[A4 road (Belgium)|A4]] ([[European route E411|E411]]): [[Brussels]] - [[Wavre]] - [[Namur]] - [[Arlon]] - [[Luxembourg City|Luxembourg]]
*[[A10 road (Belgium)|A10]] ([[European route E40|E40]]): [[Brussels]] - [[Ghent]] - [[Bruges]] - [[Ostend]]
*[[A12 road (Belgium)|A12]] ([[Brussels]] - [[Boom, Antwerp|Boom]] - [[Antwerp]] - ''[[Netherlands]]'' ([[Bergen op Zoom]])<br />:''(includes a section not yet fully upgraded to motorway standard)''
*[[A13 road (Belgium)|A13]] ([[European route E313|E313]]): [[Antwerp]] - [[Beringen, Belgium|Beringen]] - [[Hasselt]] - [[Liège]]
*[[A14 road (Belgium)|A14]] ([[European route E17|E17]]): [[Lille]] - [[Kortrijk]] - [[Ghent]] - [[Antwerp]]
*[[A15 road (Belgium)|A15]] ([[European route E42|E42]]): [[Charleroi]] - [[Namur]] - [[Huy]] - [[Liège]]
*[[A17 road (Belgium)|A17]] ([[European route E403|E403]]): [[Bruges]] - [[Kortrijk]] - [[Tournai]]
*[[A18 road (Belgium)|A18]] ([[European route E40|E40]]): [[Bruges]] - [[Veurne]] - [[Dunkerque]]

====Ringways====
The ringways (or orbital roads) around bigger cities have their own series of numbers. The names start with a '''R''' then a first digit indicating the (old) province, and sometimes a second digit to further differentiate in between different ringways.

Some major examples are:
*[[R0 road (Belgium)|R0]] is the outer ringway around [[Brussels]]. The [[R20 road (Belgium)|R20]] and [[R22 road (Belgium)|R22]] are (parts of) inner ringways around Brussels.
*[[R1 ring road (Belgium)|R1]] is the southern half ringway and [[R2 road (Belgium)|R2]] is the northern half ringway around [[Antwerp]].
*[[R3 ring road (Belgium)|R3]] is the outer ringway and [[R9 road (Belgium)|R9]] is the inner ringway around [[Charleroi]]. The inner ring is counterclockwise-only.
*[[R4 road (Belgium)|R4]] is the outer ringway and [[R40 road (Belgium)|R40]] is the inner ringway around [[Ghent]].
*[[R6 road (Belgium)|R6]] is the outer ringway and [[R12 road (Belgium)|R12]] is the inner ringway around [[Mechelen]].
*[[R8 road (Belgium)|R8]] is the outer ringway and [[R36 road (Belgium)|R36]] is the inner ringway around [[Kortrijk]].
*[[R23 road (Belgium)|R23]] is the ringway around [[Leuven]].
*[[R30 road (Belgium)|R30]] is the inner ringway around [[Bruges]].

====National roads====
{{main|List of National Roads in Belgium}}
The national roads were renumbered in 1985 according to a national scheme and are identified with the letter '''N''' followed by a number.

The principal national roads fan out from Brussels, numbered in clockwise order:
*[[N1 road (Belgium)|N1]]: [[Brussels]] - [[Mechelen]] - [[Antwerp]]
*[[N2 road (Belgium)|N2]]: [[Brussels]] - [[Leuven]] - [[Diest]] - [[Hasselt]] - [[Maastricht]]
*[[N3 road (Belgium)|N3]]: [[Brussels]] - [[Leuven]] - [[Tienen]] - [[Sint-Truiden]] - [[Liège]] - [[Aachen]]
*[[N4 road (Belgium)|N4]]: [[Brussels]] - [[Wavre]] - [[Namur]] - [[Marche-en-Famenne]] - [[Bastogne]] - [[Arlon]]
*[[N5 road (Belgium)|N5]]: [[Brussels]] - [[Charleroi]] - [[Philippeville]]
*[[N6 road (Belgium)|N6]]: [[Brussels]] - [[Halle, Belgium|Halle]] - [[Soignies]] - [[Mons, Belgium|Mons]]
*[[N7 road (Belgium)|N7]]: [[Halle, Belgium|Halle]] - [[Ath]] - [[Tournai]]
*[[N8 road (Belgium)|N8]]: [[Brussels]] - [[Ninove]] - [[Oudenaarde]] - [[Kortrijk]] - [[Ypres]] - [[Veurne]] - [[Koksijde]]
*[[N9 road (Belgium)|N9]]: [[Brussels]] - [[Aalst, Belgium|Aalst]] - [[Ghent]] - [[Eeklo]] - [[Bruges]] - [[Ostend]]

Secondary national roads intersect these.

National roads have an N plus 1, 2 or 3 digits. National roads numbered with 3 digits are provincial roads, their first number indicating the province in which the road begins:
* N1xx Province of [[Antwerp Province|Antwerp]]
* N2xx Provinces of [[Flemish Brabant]] and [[Walloon Brabant]]
* N3xx Province of [[West Flanders]]
* N4xx Province of [[East Flanders]]
* N5xx Province of [[Hainaut Province|Hainaut]]
* N6xx Province of [[Liège Province|Liège]]
* N7xx Province of [[Limburg (Belgium)|Limburg]]
* N8xx Province of [[Luxembourg (Belgium)|Luxembourg]]
* N9xx Province of [[Namur Province|Namur]]

===Cars===
====Changes====
Between 1993 and 2012 the average age of the passengers cars registered as running in [[Belgium]] increased from just over 6 years and 4 months to 8 years and 17 days.<ref>{{Cite journal
 | last=Munster
 | first=Jean-François
 | title=La Belge garde sa voiture 8 ans: Le parc automobile belge a vielli d'un an et demi en 20 ans.
 | journal=Le Soir 
 | date=August 12, 2013 
 | volume=Namur/Luxembourg 
 | pages=1
}}</ref> 2012 data for other European countries are not yet available, but in 2010 the average age of car Belgium was 7.9 years against a [[European Union]] average of 8.3 years.{{Fix|text=Out of date}} Government policy provides an important clue as to one reason for the relative newness of the national car parc.{{clarify|date=February 2025}} Despite recent high-profile plant closures by [[Genk Body & Assembly|Ford]] and [[Vilvoorde Renault Factory|Renault]], Belgium remains an important centre for automobile component and passenger car production, with important plants operated by [[Volvo Cars Ghent|Volvo]] and [[Audi Brussels|Audi]], and this is reflected in a relatively benign taxation environment whereby company cars are a still a popular and relatively tax efficient element in many remuneration packages.<ref>{{Cite journal
 | last=Munster
 | first=Jean-François
 | title=Le secteur automobile en pleine mutation.
 | journal=Le Soir 
 | date=August 12, 2013 
 | volume=Namur/Luxembourg 
 | pages=2–3
}}</ref>