LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Belgium: Belgian Railway
built 642 days ago
Belgium is served by an extensive rail system as you can see in the map above. The Belgian Railway is called the SNCB and its website is here. Many discounts and passes are offered to the tourist or occasional traveler.
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Belgium's economy and its transportation infrastructure are integrated with the rest of Europe. Its location at the heart of a highly industrialized region helps make it one of the world's ten largest trading nations. The economy is characterized by a highly productive work force, high GNP, and high exports per capita.[9] Belgium's main imports are food products, machinery, rough diamonds, petroleum and petroleum products, chemicals, clothing and accessories, and textiles. Its main exports are automobiles, food products, iron and steel, finished diamonds, textiles, plastics, petroleum products, and nonferrous metals. The Belgian economy is heavily service-oriented and shows a dual nature: a dynamic Flemish economy, with Brussels as its main multilingual and multi-ethnic centre, and a Walloon economy that lags behind.[11][41] One of the founding members of the European Union, Belgium strongly supports an open economy and the extension of the powers of EU institutions to integrate member economies. In 1999, Belgium adopted the Euro, the single European currency, which fully replaced the Belgian franc in 2002.
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Belgium, a monarchy of only 30,000sq km with a population of 10 million, lies between France, Germany and Holland with the UK just a short ferry rise across the English Channel. Belgians speak French, German or Dutch depending on there they live. English is widely understood which of course is a great convenience for the tourist. The landscape ranges from the lowlands of Flanders in the west to the Ardennes mountains in the East. Climate is temperate, similar to the UK, so golfers should pack their rain wear.
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In 1936, after France failed to oppose German remilitarization of the Rhineland, Belgium again returned to neutrality with the understanding that Britain and France would assist in its defense against foreign aggression. Nevertheless, Belgium was attacked for a second time by Germany on May 10, 1940, early in World War II. Without warning or ultimatum, Belgian airfields, railroad stations, and communications centers were bombed by German planes, and German armored units rolled across the border. The army and the French and British troops that came to Belgium’s aid were overwhelmed by the superior might of the invading forces.
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Since the 20th century, the history of Belgium became more and more dominated by the increasing autonomy of its two main communities, the Dutch- and the French-speakers. As an indication of this, since around 1970, there are no significant national Belgian political parties anymore, but only Flemish- or French-speaking parties (and one German-speaking party). The regular attempts to re-establish national, Belgian parties end up below 1 percent of the electorate; the Brussels parties either never got started (as with the 'Blauwe Leeuwen' and 'Rode Leeuwen' for the Flemings in Brussels), or got merged into one of the French-speaking liberal parties (such as the French-speaking FDF, which... has had a significant influence for years, and still keeps some independence). As such, the political landscape shows a near-perfect dual political system, reflecting the two underlying dominant communities.
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The Belgian law, which permits prosecutions in Belgium for atrocities committed abroad, has been severely curtailed by restrictive judicial decisions. The amendments passed today would restore the law to its original scope. They must still be adopted by the full Senate and the Assembly before Parliament dissolves in April.
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Belgian Railway