Brussels Metro

Development of the Brussels metro up to 2006

STIB/MIVB was created in 1954. The first underground tramway (or premetro) line was built between 1965 and 1969, from Schuman to De Brouckère. In 1970 a second line was opened, between Madou and Porte de Namur/Naamsepoort. An underground station at Diamant was opened in 1972 and the "outer ring" line was extended from Diamant to Boileau in 1975. This underground tramway section has not been developed further, and it is used by tramway lines 7 and 25. Rogier station was inaugurated in 1974.

On 20 September 1976 the first metro opened. One branch went from De Brouckère to Beaulieu (in Auderghem), and the other one linked De Brouckère with Tomberg (in Woluwe-Saint-Lambert). The same year, the North-South Axis (premetro) was opened between the North Station and Lemonnier. In 1977 two new stations were built: Sainte-Catherine/Sint-Katelijne, which replaced De Brouckère as the last stop in the municipality of Brussels, and Demey, which replaced Beaulieu as the last stop of the southern branch.

The next extension was the opening of stations in Molenbeek-Saint-Jean (Beekkant, the new terminus, Etangs Noirs/Zwarte Vijvers and Comte de Flandre/Graaf van Vlaanderen). In 1982, line 1 was split into line 1A from Bockstael (in Laeken, a former municipality now merged with Brussels) to Demey (Auderghem) and line 1B from Saint-Guidon/Sint-Guido (in Anderlecht) to Alma (at the Université catholique de Louvain campus in Woluwe-Saint-Lambert). Three years later, line 1A was extended to Heysel (near the site of the 1958 World Fair and the Heysel Stadium) at one end and to Herrmann-Debroux at the other. That year also saw the opening of Veeweyde on line 1B, and Louise/Louiza on the premetro line under the small ring (from Louise/Louiza to Rogier).

This line was extended to Simonis the next year and opened as metro line 2 in 1988, from Simonis to the South Station. Kraainem/Crainhem and Stockel/Stokkel opened in 1988[8] on the line 1B. At the other end of this line, Bizet opened in 1992. It was then the turn of line 2 to reach Clemenceau in 1993. The premetro section known as the North-South Axis, sometimes referred to as line 3, was extended to Albert that year with five new premetro stations (South Station, Porte de Hal/Hallepoort, Parvis de Saint-Gilles/Sint-Gillis Voorplein, Horta and Albert).

In 1998 Roi Baudouin/King Boudewijn opened on line 1A. Four stations opened in 2003 on line 1B: La Roue/Het Rad, CERIA/COOVI, Eddy Merckx and Erasme/Erasmus.[9] With the opening of Delacroix in September 2006, line 2 was extended beyond Clemenceau. A further extension to Gare de l'Ouest/Weststation in April 2009 closed the loop of line 2 and led to a major restructuring of metro service.

On 22 March 2016, the Islamic State bombed Maalbeek metro station in a terrorist attack that coincided with another bomb attack at Brussels Airport. The bombing at Maalbeek station killed twenty people. The incident prompted the temporary closure of the entire system, and a major reduction in service for several weeks. A fundamental review of security procedures on the metro is underway as of 2016.[10]

Brussels metro train at station Rogier

Station Demey. The elevated third rails for both tracks are visible halfway between the platforms.

The premetro lines are powered (like the ground-level Brussels tram lines) by overhead lines at 600 V DC; the conventional metro lines use instead an elevated third rail at 900 V DC. They all use standard gauge. Conventional metro platforms are "high platforms", built flush with the floor of the metro compartments; premetro platforms are the same height, but with a lowered section at least as long as the longest tram, for compatibility with tramways which must be able to take passengers from the sidewalk of a street, or even from the street floor itself. Upgrading a line from premetro to metro service includes, among others, raising the whole platform to metro height and replacing the overhead line by a third rail power supply.

There are four conventional metro lines and, as of 2008, 59 stations (not including premetro stations). Most stations are underground, although some on lines 5 and 6 are at ground level. On 4 April 2009, the connection at Gare de l'Ouest/Weststation that enables line 2 to form a circular line was put into service. As a consequence, the metro network was significantly reorganised. The development plan for this change and related tram and bus network changes was approved by the Brussels Capital Region in July 2005.

As of 4 April 2009 the four lines are as follows:

• Line 1 from Gare de l'Ouest/Weststation to the west to Stockel/Stokkel at the east end (formerly part of line 1B);
• Line 2 is a loop starting and ending in Simonis via the eastern side of the small ring road (an extension of former line 2 from Delacroix north-bound to Simonis);
• Line 5 from Erasme/Erasmus to the south-west to Herrmann-Debroux to the south-east (combines parts of former lines 1A and 1B);
• Line 6 from Roi Baudouin/Koning Boudewijn to the north-west to Simonis (including the loop of the newly extended line 2; combines the former line 2, the new connection, and a branch of the former line 1A).

Premetro

Premetro station Porte de Hal in 2006, showing overhead lines and "tramway" vs. "metro" platforms. Tramway line 90 does not exist anymore.

Line 3 and Line 4 are tram lines using the North-South Axis tunnel which crosses the city center from Brussels-North railway station to Brussels-South railway station and Albert premetro station. Line 3 runs from Churchill in the south to Esplanade in the north. Line 4 runs from Brussels-North railway station to the Stalle car park in the south. This North-South axis is being upgraded to metro service: works have begun in 2019, including northeastward prolongation of the metro tunnel, and the transition to conventional metro is foreseen for 2024.

Line 7 is the main line of the greater ring, replacing Tram 23 and Tram 24 as of 14 March 2011. It services the Heysel/Heizel, runs under the Laeken Parc and then via the greater ring to the terminus of Line 3 to terminate one stop later at Vanderkindere for connections to tram lines 3, 4 and 92. The somewhat shorter Line 25 also runs the greater ring premetro, but with different endpoints at both ends.

Line 3 (T)	Line 4 (T)	Line 7 (T)	Line 25 (T)
Esplanade Churchill	Gare du Nord / Noordstation Stalle car park	Heysel / Heizel Vanderkindere	Rogier Gare de Boondael / Boondaal station

MoBIB is the STIB/MIVB smart card, introduced in 2007. It uses contactless technology based on the Calypso-system, comparable with London's Oyster card. All Metro stations, buses and trams have MoBIB readers. It is possible to buy monthly passes, yearly passes, 1 and 10-trip tickets and daily and 3-day passes. Customers can now buy these on the Internet with a card reader. GO vending machines accept coins, local and international chip and PIN credit and debit cards.

M6 "Boa" train at Erasmus metro station

The Brussels Metro is served by 217 carriages of M1-M5 series, manufactured by La Brugeoise et Nivelles, ACEC, Bombardier Transportation, Alstom and CAF and delivered between 1976 and 1999, as well as 21 six-car trainsets of the new M6 series (also known as "Boa"), manufactured by CAF and delivered between 2007 and 2012. A new train type known as M7 series will be commissioned on lines 1 and 5 in 2018 and will be fully automated.

The STIB/MIVB had plans to make lines 1 and 5 fully automatic by 2016 which would have allowed a significant increase in the frequency of trains.[11]

A new metro line will be created from Brussels-North railway station through Schaerbeek towards Bordet railway station. The plan was finally approved in 2013, aiming to start construction in 2018 and operation in 2022.[12] Eventually, this would be linked up with a new southbound line to Uccle (Héros/Helden), which will not be finished before 2025.[13] At this moment, the axis of lines 3 and 4 is being transformed in a new metroline 3. For this, the existing stations will be upgraded. The present station Lemonnier though will be replaced with a new station Constitution/Grondwet.[14]

In 2004, STIB/MIVB commissioned a planning document called STIB/MIVB 2020. More suggestions were made as to future plans, but these will not be enacted before completion of the north- and southbound lines. One suggestion included the construction of a new branch from Merode to Troon via Brussels-Luxembourg Station. This would help to relieve congestion on the central parts of Line 1/5. There may be a further metro line running south-west from Brussels-Luxembourg Station to Ixelles, the Chaussée de Waterloo/Waterloosesteenweg, and the Place Vanderkindereplein. Brussels-Luxembourg Station would become one of the major transfer points of the metro. The plan also hopes to make the railway stations more inter-connected, allowing for easier transfers from Brussels-South railway station, Schuman station, and Luxembourg.[15]

The metro system is complemented by an S-train network serving the broader metropolitan region opened in late 2015.[16]

• Transport in Brussels
• Trams in Brussels
• Brussels RER
• Brusseline (typeface)
• List of Brussels metro and premetro stations
• List of metro systems

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Brussels Metro.

• Brussels Metro Map on Google Maps with Geolocation
• STIB/MIVB official website
• Official Metro map
• To-scale map
• Brussels page on Urbanrail.net
• Photos: Métro de Bruxelles (in French)
• Proposed network : (in Dutch) / (in French)
• Web site with information on future "line 3" (in French and Dutch)

Brussels Metro map

Brussels Metro —— Line 1 —— Line 2 —— Line 5 —— Line 6 —— PREMETRO (3 & 4) Osseghem/Ossegem Simonis Belgica Pannenhuis Bockstael Stuyvenbergh Houba-Brugmann Heysel/Heizel King Baudouin Erasme/Erasmus Eddy Merckx CERIA/COOVI La Roue/Het Rad Bizet Veeweyde/Veeweide Saint-Guidon/Sint-Guido Aumale Jacques Brel Gare de l'Ouest/Weststation Beekkant Étangs Noirs/Zwarte Vijvers Comte de Flandre/ Graaf van Vlaanderen Saint Catherine De Brouckère Brussels-Central Park Arts-Loi/Kunst-Wet Maelbeek/Maalbeek Schuman Merode Thieffry Pétillon Hankar Delta Beaulieu Demey Herrmann-Debroux Montgomery Joséphine-Charlotte Gribaumont Tomberg Roodebeek Vandervelde Alma Crai- nhem/ Kraai- nem Stockel/ Stokkel Ribaucourt Yser/IJzer Rogier Botanique/Kruidtuin Madou Trône/Troon Porte de Namur/ Naamsepoort Louise/Louiza Hôtel des Monnaies/Munthof Porte de Hal/Hallepoort Brussels-South Clemenceau Delacroix