The Line Maastricht - Vaals

This standard gauge tramway line has been long in the making. First initiatives were taken in 1882 and serious plans were issued in 1889, at the height of the "tram boom". It wasn't until 1901 before a first plan for a meter gauge connection to the Belgian tramway network was granted a concession. When this plan failed to materialize discussion arose in 1907 about the choice of traction (steam or electric) the route and the gauge. The province of Limburg wanted a modern line, electrically operated and standard gauge. When AEG entered the discussion in 1910 by, undoubtedly unselfishly, proposing an electric tramway line, pandemonium was complete. This proposal was granted a concession in 1912. Work was even actually started but abruptly ended at the start of the Great War, AEG belonging to the one of the warring parties and the Dutch being neutral. After cessation of hostilities AEG made clear they wanted to bail out and the concession was withdrawn in 1919. A government committee studied the various options to bring the on-going and increasingly heated discussion to a satisfying conclusion. The line was redesigned and the decision was handed down in favour of a steam operated standard gauge line.

Maastricht (west) to Vaals (east) with in the middle the small branch to Wijlre where it had a connection to the Dutch Railways (source: ShareMap). Click image to enlarge.

Work started in 1921 and section Wijlre-Vaals was opened in 1922. Maasticht-Gulpen followed in 1925.

Economically the tide had turned terribly and the line was typically "too little too late". The tramway boom had long vanished into history, busses made the day, the new line was incompatible with the bulk of the LTM network which was electrically operated on meter gauge, and of course the line was pestered by the economic downturn of the twenties. All ingredients for disaster were in place and the LTM didn't fail to fail. Maastricht-Vaals never earned as much a single cent and operation ceased in 1938 and the line was broken up in the following year. The shame of the fiasco was so deep that even the people of Limburg can't remember the line.