During the reconstruction of the areas in West Flanders that were destroyed during the First World War, the transport of building materials was not an easy task, as the destroyed infrastructure caused many problems. To solve this, the State Service of the Devastated Territories (Flemish:
Dienst der Verwoeste Gewesten, DVG) set up the Transport Office of the Devastated Territories in West Flanders, called
Exploitation des Transports des Régions Dévastées, ETRD in French. In the autumn of 1919, the Transport Office took over the light railway network built by English and Belgian forces from the War Ministry. It had its headquarters in
Roeselare and branches in
Vlamertinge,
Veurne,
Sint-Idesbald and
Menen. It operated from 9 April 1919 to 19 August 1926 and was successively subordinate to the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of State Administration (later the Ministry of Economic Affairs) and the Ministry of Agriculture. The Transport Office lent vehicles and equipment to organisations and private individuals. In the autumn of 1919, the Transport Department already had 260 trucks and tractors for road transport. Despite these efforts, the destroyed infrastructure and the huge volume of transport led to challenges, including the need to deliver six billion bricks between 1 January 1920 and 30 June 1922. In January 1925, when reconstruction was almost complete, this equipment was sold on to the army because local contractors complained of unfair competition. Several communities obtained Decauville track and
rolling stock through the agency of the Transport Department. == Rolling stock ==