Route planner handbook

More information about using the route planner

• General
• Correction of details entered (auto-completion function)
• Route planner

General

You can plan a trip with the route planner by entering the following details:

• a starting point
  
• a destination
  
• corresponding details like time, address, stop, etc.
  

The route planner looks up the best route for you; it takes into account the details that you entered.

Correction of details entered (auto-completion function)

When entering the fields ‘Departure’ and ‘Arrival’ an auto-completion function helps you find the correct municipality/city or stop or the correct address, station or identification point. After you start typing, several possibilities will appear.

You can make your choice by clicking on the desired term or by using the TAB key once the desired term is selected. The term that's currently selected is at the top of the list and has a blue background. As you enter more letters, the number of results shrinks so it is easier to find a term.

Route planner

• Good to know when entering information
  • Enter the departure city and arrival city
  • Use the lists
  • Return to a previous page
  • Message 'Your session has expired'
• Departure and arrival
  • Departure city and arrival city
  • Depart from or arrive at an address
  • Depart from or arrive at a stop
  • Depart from or arrive at an NMBS station
  • Depart from or arrive at an identification point
• Details
• Routes found
• Routes found: details
• Routes found: print route
• Search again
  
  

Good to know when entering information

Enter the departure city and arrival city

Don't forget to enter the ‘Departure city’ and ‘Arrival city’ fields!

Use the lists

If you look for an address, stop, NMBS station or identification point and the auto-completion function doesn't help then you can use the lists. See also the section ' Departure and arrival '.

Return to a previous page

To return to a previous page, use the ‘Back’ button:

Message 'Your session has expired'

If you wait too long while entering the details in the route planner, it's possible that you get the message ‘Your session has expired’. In that case you must re-enter your details. It's best not to interrupt your search.

Departure and arrival

This is where you enter your departure city and arrival city together with the corresponding information. Via the radio buttons you can choose whether you want to depart from or arrive at an address (the standard setting), stop, station or identification point.

Departure city and arrival city

To complete your search you must always enter a departure city and an arrival city.
If you are not sure how to spell the name of a city, you can search for the city by using 'Search city' next to the entry box. You will see the following entry box:



In this field you can enter part of or all of the city name. Click on the 'Search' button to see a list of results:


After choosing one of the results from the list you arrive at the starting page of the route planner and the 'City' field is entered automatically.

Depart from or arrive at an address

To search via an address, make sure that the ‘address’ radio button is active then enter the address (street and number or street and intersection).
If you are not sure how to spell the name of an address or intersection, you can search for that address or intersection by using 'Search street/Search intersection' next to the entry box. You will see a field like this one:

You can enter the complete name or part of the name in the entry box. Click on the 'Search' button to see a list of results:



After choosing one of the results from the list you arrive at the starting page of the route planner and the 'street' field is entered automatically.
After entering the street, enter a valid house number for that street. If you don't know the house number then use the 'Search intersection' link. It works just like the 'Search street' link. If you have already entered a city and street then after clicking on the 'Search Intersection' link you will receive a summary of all streets that intersect this street.

After choosing one of the results from the list you arrive at the starting page of the route planner and the 'at the intersection with' field is entered automatically. If you don't enter an intersecting street or house number then the route planner will calculate your route from or to the middle of the street.

Depart from or arrive at a stop

If you want to depart from or arrive at a certain stop make sure that the 'stop' radio button is active. Enter the stop in the entry box. If you are not sure how to spell the name of a certain stop you can use the 'Search stop' link:



In this field you must enter the entire stop name or part of it and then click on the 'Search' button. You will receive a list of the stops that were found:



After choosing one of the results from the list you arrive at the starting page of the route planner and the 'Stop' field is entered automatically.

Depart from or arrive at an NMBS station

If you want to depart from or arrive at a certain station make sure that the 'station NMBS' radio button is active. Enter the station in the entry box. If you are not sure how to spell the name of a certain station you can use the 'Search station' link:

If you enter a city first and leave the 'station NMBS' empty you can click on 'Search stations' and receive a summary of all stations in the city that you entered:


After choosing one of the results from the list you arrive at the starting page of the route planner and the 'station NMBS' field is entered automatically.

Depart from or arrive at an identification point

If you want to depart from or arrive at a certain identification point make sure that the 'identification point' radio button is active. Enter the identification in the entry box. If you are not sure how to spell the name of the identification point you can use the 'Search identification point' link: You'll see the following field:



In this field you must enter the entire name of the identification point or part of it then click on the 'Search' button. You will receive a list with all the identification points that were found:

Details

Under ‘Details’ you choose which day and what time you want to depart (activate the 'Departure' radio button) or arrive (activate the 'Arrival' radio button). The current date and current time are automatically entered but you can change this by clicking in the fields. You can find a certain date quickly with the calendar icon.
Then click the 'Calculate your route' button in the bottom right-hand corner of the page. The route planner will calculate and display your route. You can refine your search with the fields below:

• Time : you can indicate whether the route planner
  
  • can use the nearest time ('approximately')
    
  • must respect the time of departure or arrival (‘respect’)
    
  • must show the earliest (‘earliest’) or last (‘last’) journey.
    
• Route limited in : you can indicate what is most important for you
  
  • if you choose ‘travelling time’ then the route planner will bring you to your destination as quickly as possible
    
  • if you choose ‘number of transfers’ then the route planner will limit the number of transfers to as few as possible
    
  • and if you choose ‘walking distance’ then the route planner will select the route with the shortest walking distance.
    

• Means of transport : you can indicate which means of transport you want to use via the boxes. For example, if you only want to travel by bus then see that only the ‘bus’ box is active.
  
• Accessibility : activating this box means that only accessible busses will be listed in the results.
  

Routes found

Once you have entered all the details and clicked on the ‘Calculate your route’ button, the route planner starts searching for a solution. The solution will appear on a page like this one:



Your search details are summarised in the section ‘Your request’.
In the 'Summary' section you see:

• the columns ‘ Departure’ and ‘ Arrival’ : when you depart and arrive
  
• the column ‘ Total travelling time ’: the total duration of your trip
  
• the column ‘ Number of transfers ’: the number of transfers that you must make during the trip
  
• the column ‘ Total walking distance ’: the distance that you must walk during the trip
  
• the column ‘Line(s) ’: the lines that you must take to reach your destination
  
• the column ‘ Route details ’: an extensive description of the route you should follow (link ‘Details’)
  
• any notes to warn about possible road construction, detours, etc. (column 'Note');
  
• the ability to plan a return trip on a certain date and time.

Routes found: details

If you click on 'Details' in the ‘Route details’ column you can see which steps you must take to reach your destination. Every horizontal row is considered a step. Each step lists a departure time.

• In the column ‘ Departure ’ you see the departure time for that step.
  
• In the column ‘ Description ’ you see what you must do during that step.
  
• In the column ‘ To ’ you see the destination of that step.
  
• In the column ‘ Travelling time ’ you see how much time that step will take.
  
• In the column ‘ Route details ’ you see which line (vehicle) you must take for that step. If it is a step that requires walking, you can consult a map with the route you must walk via the 'Walking route' link. Your route is also described under the map.
  
• The red letters in the column ‘ Note ’, warn you about possible disruptions like detours. You go to the relevant note by clicking on a letter. These notes are also mentioned in the red-pink section at the bottom of the page.
  

Routes found: print route

To print out the route, click on the 'Print route' button in the upper right corner.

Search again

To do a new search quickly, you can use the 'Change details' or 'New search' buttons in the upper right corner.


If you click on the 'Change details' button you will return to the starting page of the route planner. The route planner remembers which details you had entered and re-enters them for you.
If you click on the 'New search' button you will return to the starting page of the route planner, but all the fields will be empty.