Long ago, long before Belgium had a railway, people’s mobility depended on the power of their own two feet. Those who were wealthy could afford a horse and carriage or travelled by stagecoach. As from the sixteenth century tow barges, pulled by a horse from the tow path, were used as the first form of public transport. These travelled at only 3 to 4 km per hour, but were very punctual. The skipper stuck to a schedule and did not wait for latecomers. The oldest tow-barge service known in Belgium dates back to 1618 and travelled between Brussels and Antwerp. Until the invention of the iron track, this was the most comfortable and reliable form of transport between towns and villages located along waterways. The train caused a revolution in terms of speed and capacity: in the 19th century, steam engines reached the incredible speed of 60 km/h.

The two most important components in the railway – the track and the locomotive – were developed during the industrial revolution (1750-1840). The first railway line in the world dates back to 1825, when George Stephenson connected the towns of Stockton and Darlington in England by rail. The line was intended to transport coal. The wagons were pulled by steam engines. Passengers were transported by horse-drawn carriages. The first railway lines in France, Saint-Etienne to Andrézieux and Saint-Etienne to Lyon, were industrial railways as well.

The green light for the railway, however, had yet to be given. On June 9, 1833, Leopold I called a meeting of parliament to dedicate its attention and patriotism to the project connecting the sea and the river Scheldt with the Meuse and the Rhine. Ten days later, minister Rogier submitted a draft bill concerning a loan for the state’s installation of a first section of iron tracks from Mechelen to Verviers via Liege, with branch lines to Brussels, Antwerp and Ostend.

On March 11, 1834, discussions began on the draft bill in the Chamber. No less than seventeen stormy sittings – tensions ran high – were required to reach a decision. Some members feared that the coming of the railway would disrupt daily life, causing skippers on inland waterways, post masters and horse owners to lose their livelihood and rebel.

Reference was made to October 1830, when angry workers destroyed the industrial railway at the coal mine in Grand Hornu near Mons. They were upset by worried waggoners, who had become partly unemployed. The arrival of the railway had sent the number of horses from 160 down to 24.

Declarations by the people’s representatives P. Eloy de Burdinne and De Robaulx captured the imagination even more. The MP declared that milk transported by rail would arrive as buttermilk. To which his colleague added: ‘The eggs will arrive as omelettes.’

There was also fierce opposition from Hainaut. People in this region feared competition from the mines in Liege. Discussions continued on canals versus railways, and concessions versus implementation by the state and whether such a large loan was a good idea.

On March 28, 1834, a vote was taken in the Chamber: 56 for and 28 against the railway. The Senate voted on April 30: 32 for, 8 against. On May 1, 1834, King Leopold I signed the law supporting the creation of the Belgian railways.
From then on everything moved fast.