RAVeL network

RAVeL or in French: Réseau autonome des voies lentes (in autonomous network of slow ways)[1] is a Walloon initiative aimed at creating a network of itineraries reserved for pedestrians, cyclists, horse riders and people with reduced mobility, initiated at the end of the 1980s and connecting major cities and secondary municipalities of Wallonia through over 1,440 km (890 mi) of pathways.

Old railway lines have been leased by the Government of Wallonia to the project under agreement to provide preventative maintenance when required.

Large parts of this network were disused after the war, with the development of road infrastructure and the preference for private cars.

A 4 December 1997 ministerial order, aimed at classifying Walloon public roads into functional categories, provides an official status to the RAVeL network.

The RAVeL is connected to similar networks in adjacent regions (Flanders and Brussels) and countries (France, Luxembourg, Germany and Netherlands).