Development of the network As of 2017, there are 17 tram routes, totalling , To negotiate a sharp turn, the old route T18 (closed 1 July 2007) had to make a 270-degree turn on its journey away from the city centre, looping round and crossing its own path.
premetro station, clearly showing the dual platform heights Under the
Brussels-South railway station, the
premetro and metro tracks swap from running on the right to running on the left where they run parallel to provide
cross-platform interchange between the two lines. This serves no apparent purpose, but may be because main line trains in Belgium run on the left. Trams cross back to the right under the /, but the metro stays on the left as far as the
Roi Baudouin/Koning Boudewijn terminus. A 2007 paper calculated that delays caused by traffic congestion were responsible for direct costs of €17.34 million per year - over 18% of the production cost of the tram network. The costs chiefly comprised drivers' wages (60%) and additional vehicles (25%), and excluded overheads and the cost of time lost by passengers. In an attempt to remedy this, by 2016, Brussels Mobility had installed traffic light priority for trams or buses at 150 junctions. In some other places, the track layout is used to avoid hold-ups; for instance on route 92 at the Ma Campagne and Janson crossroads, which lie from each other on the
Chaussée de Charleroi/Charleroisesteenweg. There is lateral space for only one track in a raised central reservation, and the rails swerve to the left approximately in front of the junction so that cars can queue in the right-hand lane. Between 2006 and 2009, a phased transformation of the network took place, with the aim of improving regularity and relieving overcrowding. The
premetro service between
Brussels-North railway station and
Albert was restructured with fewer lines passing through it, but at more regular intervals. These routes use the new longer
Bombardier trams. The major part of the North–South Axis (from
Lemonnier to
Rogier) is now used only by lines
3 and
4 during the day, branded
Chrono. Tram line
55 from
Schaerbeek (north of Brussels) that used to use the North–South Axis now terminates at Rogier. The old line 52 was replaced by line 3 in the north (from Brussels-South to Thomas and from Van Praet to Esplanade), 82 (from
Drogenbos to Lemonnier) and 32 in the south. The old tram line 56 was also withdrawn. A previously implemented part of the plan was the creation of line 25 in April 2007. Line 25 goes from Rogier to the
Boondael/Boondaal railway station following the route of the former line 90 from Rogier to Buyl, then leaves the outer ring towards the
Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB)'s
Solbosch/Solbos campus. On 14 March 2011, old lines 23 and 24 were merged to create the new eastern semicircular
premetro line 7, which runs almost entirely in its own right of way from
Heysel/Heizel in the north to Vanderkindere in the south.
Current routes Valid as of 11 December 2021. Stricken-out (
barré/doorgestreepte) route numbers represent partial services (they do not go up to the end of the line). Only regular services are shown in this list.
Termini , 2007 The system contains 14 stub termini and 10 loop termini, while 3 routes (4 at Brussels-North, 25 at Boondael and 55 at
Bordet) terminate on central tracks between continuing lines. At Vanderkindere, route 7 terminates by reversing on the through tracks. Over the years, loops have gradually been replaced by stub termini when opportunities have presented themselves. In 2007, a loop was built on the
Place Poelaert/Poelaertplein to accommodate short-running 94 trams, which had the peculiarity that the through line bifurcated it. It was lifted after only a few months. The 51 terminus at Van Haelen was originally planned as a loop, but was eventually built, in 2008, as a stub. In around 2011, the reversing triangle for route 39 at Ban Eik was converted into a stub. The 19 terminus at
Groot-Bijgaarden lost its triangular loop on 18 October 2021. Lines
3 and
7 both link the
Heysel/Heizel Plateau in the north-west of the city with Churchill in Uccle in the south, the 3 traversing the western side of the city centre and the 7 following the eastern ring road. At the Churchill terminus, a strictly-timed manoeuvre takes place to allow trams to lay over and then depart in the reverse direction. The terminus is situated in the middle of a traffic roundabout where eight streets meet, and consists of a circle of track bisected by a through line, connected by four sets of points. The manoeuvre consists of the following steps: • Tram 7 arrives from east onto northern central platform (B). Through passengers transfer to tram 3 waiting at northern peripheral platform (A); • Tram 3 departs westwards; • Tram 7 can now follow it to the next stop, Vanderkindere, where it reverses using a trailing crossover (and connects with routes 4 and 92); • This same tram 7 now arrives at the southern central platform (C); • A new tram 3 arrives from the west, following the 7 from Vanderkindere, and occupies the southern peripheral platform (D). Through passengers transfer to tram 7; • Tram 7 departs eastwards; • The tram 3 on layover drives round the eastern half of the loop from position (D) to reposition itself at the northern peripheral platform (A); • The cycle recommences. While transferring passengers use the platforms within the roundabout, those boarding or alighting use four separate stops on the / in pairs on either side of the junction, thus avoiding having to cross into the middle of the roundabout. This situation will end when the city's central tram subway is converted in heavy metro line 3, whenceforth lines 3, 4 and 7 will all terminate at Albert.
Planned extensions North of Brussels In the 21st-century political climate, investment in light rail has again taken off, and a number of extensions to the system are at various stages of fruition. Lines 3, 7 and 9 are to be connected at Heysel/Heizel, and on 20 December 2018, Brussels Mobility Minister
Pascal Smet announced that the next two lines to be built, estimated to open in 2024, will run from
Rogier to
Belgica via Brussels-North and
Tour et Taxis/Thurn en Taxis (seat of the Flemish Regional Government), as well as from Rogier to Hôpital Militaire/Militaire Ziekenhuis in
Neder-Over-Heembeek via Van Praet (line 10). The Flemish Region, under its
Brabantnet plan, intends to build a new line to the north of the city, from Heysel/Heizel to
Willebroek alongside the
A12 road. Its success will require integration with the existing Brussels regional system; for instance the line will have to be built at standard rather than metre gauge (as the other Flemish trams are). Three other suburban/interurban lines had been proposed: from Brussels westwards to
Ninove, from Brussels north-eastwards to
Heist-op-den-Berg, and from Heysel/Heizel via
Vilvoorde to
Brussels Airport. The first two proposals were withdrawn, while the last has been implemented in 2020 as a 'tram-bus'. The
Ringtrambus (originally numbered 820, now R20) from Brussels Airport to
Jette opened on 28 June 2020, operated by 14 24-metre double-articulated buses. The initial half-hourly frequency was doubled to quarter-hourly on 1 September 2020.
South and central Brussels Other proposals have been aborted. During 2014 and 2015, STIB/MIVB promoted a project to 'tramify' the
Porte de Namur/Naamsepoort–
Delta section of the overloaded 71 bus route, which carries over 12,000 passengers per day in each direction. The Brussels Region supported the proposal, but the municipality of
Ixelles was against, supported by traders on the / who feared the disruption the tracklaying would cause. The proposal was dropped and instead the section from the
Chaussée de Wavre/Waversesteenweg to the / has been made largely
car-free. Other outline proposals have been made to extend the 62 to Brussels Airport (with the infrastructure being paid for by the Flemish Region), divert the 92 from the
Rue Royale/Koningsstraat to serve
Brussels Central Station, as well as to rebuild the east–west link through the city centre from
Bourse/Beurs to the
Place Royale/Koningsplein. On 18 July 2019, the Brussels Government, in its programme for the period 2019–2024, committed itself to set the following additional developments in train: conversion of bus route 95 from the Central Station to the university area (partially making up for the failed conversion of route 71), extension of route 25 eastwards to serve the Mediapark, extension of route 7 westwards to
Forest (this may include a tunnel under
Forest Park from Albert, where lines 4, 7 and 51 will terminate when the heavy metro is extended to Albert) and conversion of route 49 to form a western ring line, as well as extension of route 8 northwards to
Evere and eastwards to
Jezus-Eik.
Tram 95 On 8 November 2022, it was reported to the regional Mobility Committee that STIB/MIVB has launched a feasibility study on the 'tramification' of bus 95, to report in 2023. The 95 is Brussels' busiest bus route, on a par with the 71 at 7.25m passengers a year. Between Trône/Troon and Etterbeek Station, it is saturated at 1,000 passengers per hour in each direction. The best option would be to connect it to the planned tram from the Central Station to Tour & Taxis, but this poses the question of how to route it through the city centre. As for the southern terminus, it might be truncated to the
ULB or Delta.
13 new projects by 2035 On 28 March 2023 the Brussels regional government announced a new "Tram Plan" to build 13 new lines totalling 40 km in length by 2035. STIB/MIVB published more detail on 5 May 2023. The 13 major projects are: • the extension of line 62 to the airport at Zaventem • line 10 to Neder-Over-Hembeek (opened 23 September 2024) • the 'Mediatram' serving the Mediapark in Schaerbeek/Schaarbeek and terminating at Kraainem/Crainhem • a western ring tram, partially replacing buses 49 and 53 • extension of line 8 to the ADEPS sport centre in Auderghem/Oudergem • the northward extension of line 8 from Roodebeek to Bordet • a bypass for line 8 between De Mot and Roosevelt • the connection of lines 3 and 9 at Heysel/Heizel, serving Parking C • the tramification of bus 95 from Central Station to ULB in Ixelles/Elsene • a line from Central Station to Tour et Taxis/Thurn en Taxis • a link from Bockstael to Sobieski • the linking of Albert and Rochefort (line 7) • the improvement of the eastern ring, including a tunnel under Place Meiser/Meiserplein
Track maintenance and the
Rue du Bailli/Baljuwstraat, 2018 Tracks are renewed periodically, both when they wear out, and also to increase the lateral clearance between them, to enable the safe passage of wider trams. Minor imperfections are smoothed by in-situ welding. When a temporary diversion is required, STIB/MIVB often installs a set of temporary or 'Californian' points which sits on top of the permanent rails. Tracks have historically been embedded in stone setts, with STIB/MIVB taking responsibility for the road up to on either side of the rails. However, recently, tarmac has been used, which improves conditions for cyclists. In recent years, when major junctions have been relaid, the opportunuity has been taken to increase stability by installing a concrete raft underneath the whole junction.
Signalling On the overground parts of the network, trams drive at sight, while the underground
premetro sections have block signalling. However, drivers do not need to check in and out of the signalled section as on the
Muni system in
San Francisco. An exception is in the earliest tunnel to be built, at the
Lemonnier stop, where passengers cross the tracks using an underground
level crossing. This station will be bypassed when the line is converted to
heavy metro and the new
Toots Thielemans station built slightly to its east. ==Vehicles==