The Belgian State Railways ( nl, Belgische Staatsspoorwegen; french: Chemins de fer de l'État Belge) was the original state-owned railway of

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

. Established by an organic law of 1 May 1834, it began construction of its first line, between

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

and

Mechelen Mechelen (; french: Malines ; traditional English name: MechlinMechelen has been known in English as ''Mechlin'', from where the adjective ''Mechlinian'' is derived. This name may still be used, especially in a traditional or historical contex ...

on 1 June 1834. This line, which was opened on 5 May 1835, was also the first steam-powered public railway in continental Europe. On 1 September 1926, the assets and operations of the Belgian State Railways were transferred to its successor, the then newly created

National Railway Company of Belgium french: Société nationale des chemins de fer belgesgerman: Nationale Gesellschaft der Belgischen Eisenbahnen , type = Statutory corporation , industry = Rail Transport , foundation = 1926 , founder = Government of ...

( nl, Nationale Maatschappij der Belgische Spoorwegen, links=no; french: Société nationale des chemins de fer belges, links=no (NMBS/SNCB)), as part of a scheme formulated to eliminate Belgium's then excessive floating debt. Under the scheme, it was intended that Treasury bonds would not be repaid when they fell due; instead, they would be converted into bonds or shares issued by the NMBS/SNCB, or into fresh Treasury bonds, with the holders having the right to take either.

See also