Brussels Trams RoutesBrussels Trams RoutesBrussels Trams Development of the Network As of 2017, there are 17 tram routes, totalling 141.1 km (87.7 mi), and serving most parts of the city, including three partial ring routes (7, 8, and 81). The routes have a very varied feel, including street running through narrow streets in working-class districts (line 81), cobbled central reservation, reserved track through parkland and woods (Line 44), signal-controlled running in tunnels (the premetro lines 3 and 4 in the North–South Axis, and 7), and short stretches in cutting (the old route 18, closed in 2007). Almost all trams are double-ended and all are double-sided, and there is a fairly even mixture of stub and loop termini. The route pattern shows some notable gaps, particularly along major radial routes, because these were originally served by the national network of buurtspoorwegen/tramways vicinaux. These used 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in) metre gauge, rather than the Brussels 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge, and so the tracks could not easily be taken over when the lines were progressively closed from the 1960s onwards. The complementary routing of vicinal and urban tracks and the replacement of key lines by metro has led to some peculiar track layouts, for instance at the Barrière de Saint-Gilles/Bareel Sint-Gillis. Though all seven roads at this circular junction originally had tram lines, only three of the original seven remain. 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. 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 Place Bara/Baraplein, 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 300 metres (980 ft) 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 100 metres (330 ft) 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 campus of Solbosch. 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. Brussels Trams Current Routes
Brussels Trams Termini The system contains 14 stub termini and 10 loop termini, while 4 routes (4 at Brussels-North, 7 at Vanderkindere, 25 at Boondael and 55 at Bordet) terminate on central tracks between continuing lines. 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 650-metre-long (2,130 ft) 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:
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. Trams in Brussels Overview Brussels Trams Locale: Brussels, Belgium Brussels Trams Routes: 18 (2019) Brussels Trams Owner(s): Brussels-Capital Region Brussels Trams Operator(s): STIB/MIVB Brussels Trams Track Gauge: 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge Brussels Trams Propulsion System(s): Electricity Brussels Trams Electrification: 750 V DC overhead lines Brussels Trams Depot(s): 7 Brussels Trams Stock: 397 Brussels Trams Track Length (total): 140.6 km Brussels Trams Route Length:141.1 km (87.7 mi) Brussels Trams Revenue: 2017: 149.1 million Brussels Trams Horsecar Era: 1869–ca. 1900 Brussels Trams Status: Converted to electricity Brussels Trams Track Gauge: 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) Brussels Trams Propulsion System(s): Horses Brussels Trams Steam Tram Era: 1876–1877, 1879 Brussels Trams Status: Experiments abandoned Brussels Trams Track Gauge: 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) Brussels Trams Propulsion System(s): Steam Brussels Trams Accumulator Tram Era: 1883, 1886–1889 Brussels Trams Status: Experiments abandoned Brussels Trams Track Gauge: 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) Brussels Trams Propulsion System(s): Rechargeable batteries Brussels Trams Electric Tram Era: since 1894 Brussels Trams Status: Still Running Brussels Trams Owner(s): Brussels-Capital Region Brussels Trams Operator(s): STIB/MIVB (since 1954) | |||||
| |||||
