The goal of this north-south connection was to increase profit from the coal coming from Charleroi.

The railway played a very important economic and social role in the mobility of the provinces of East Flanders and Antwerp, in particual the regions of Waasland and Klein-Brabant.

Temse, Bornem, Puurs and Willebroek partially financed the construction of the railway.

In the Netherlands, the railway line mainly served the port of Terneuzen in an effort to increase the sales of agriculture products coming from Zeelandic Flanders.

Along the trajectory of the railway, three bridges needed to be built: in Willebroek, Temse and Sluiskil.

Today, there is a hiking and bicycle path out of asphalt between Sint-Niklaas and Hulst where the tracks used to be.