Westhoek better accessible with new bus connections

And a bus connection has also been started between Poperinge and Hazebrouck in northern France.

Line 71

Limited public transport had been an old problem in Heuvelland and Mesen for years. But as of today, the Westhoek has a new bus connection. Heuvelland had long been asking for a better connection to Poperinge and Ypres. The new Line 71 is the solution.

“Now we finally have a fixed line that connects all the villages of Messines and Heuvelland,” says Wieland De Meyer, mayor of Heuvelland.

Eight buses a day

“People who want to go from one village to another can take that bus, but people who want to go to Ypres or Poperinge every two hours during the day. Also during holidays and on Wednesday afternoons.

That equates to eight buses a day. Heuvelland is dependent on Ypres and Poperinge for education and hospitals. But it also works the other way around.

“People who come to Heuvelland to work: we have a lot of employment. But also for tourism and schools who want to go on a trip and other groups. This can be used usefully for many purposes,” says the mayor.

Line 71 should have been there in 2018, but it was awaiting the basic accessibility decree of the Flemish government. Heuvelland also hopes to benefit from a tourist benefit from the new bus connection Poperinge and Hazebrouck in northern France. There you can even take the TGV. Line 71 is already there for one year.