Brussels 2009

Brussels after the completion of the circular métro line on 6 Apr. 2009 and a few small subsequent changes.

VIDEOS


Above: YouTube^CA video - 1973 - tramways de Bruxelles - Length: 7:03 mins.	Above: YouTube^CA video - Brussels Trams Bruxelles PCC and Bombardier Trams - Length: 7:51 mins.	Above: YouTube^CA video - Brussels Metro, Belgium, August 2017 - Length: 11:09 mins.

PHOTOS

MAP

Brussels tram map

I created the above map by overlaying an OpenStreetMap (OSM) map with my own data. Copyright on the OSM map is © OpenStreetMap contributors, licensed under a CC-BY-SA (Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 licence).

Please note that the OSM map used as a template for this map corresponds to the situation at the time the map was downloaded and may show features that did not exist at the time the GS Tram Site is supposed to show. In particular, it may show bridges and highways that were built later.

ABBREVIATIONS ON THE MAP

AL/KW	Arts-Loi / Kunst-Wet	PE	Princesse Élisabeth / Prinses Elisabeth
CJ/KJ	Cimetière Jette / Kerkhof van Jette	PN/NP	Porte de Ninove / Ninoofse Poort
DB	De Brouckère

ROUTES

Operator: Société des transports intercommunaux bruxellois (STIB) / Maatschappij voor het Intercommunaal Vervoer te Brussel (MIVB)

TRAM ROUTES

3	Esplanade – De Wand – Heembeek – G. du Nord / Noordstation – Rogier - De Brouckère – G. du Midi / Zuidstation – St. Gilles / Sint-Gillis - Albert – Vanderkindere – Churchill
4	G. du Nord / Noordstation – Rogier - De Brouckère – G. du Midi / Zuidstation – St. Gilles / Sint-Gillis – Albert – Vanderkindere – Uccle / Ukkel – Stalle [Day service only]
19	Groot-Bijgaarden – Berchem-Ste-Agathe / Sint-Agatha- Berchem – Simonis – Jette - Cim.Jette / Kerkhof van Jette – De Greef – Centenaire / Eeuwfeest - De Wand
23	Heysel / Heizel – Centenaire / Eeuwfeest - De Wand – Heembeek – Princesse Élisabeth / Prinses Elisabeth - Meiser - Diamant – Montgomery – Etterbeek – Buyl – Legrand – Churchill – Vanderkindere
24	Schaerbeek / Schaarbeek – Princesse Élisabeth / Prinses Elisabeth - Meiser - Diamant – Montgomery – Etterbeek – Buyl – Legrand – Churchill – Vanderkindere [Daytime only]
25	Rogier – G. du Nord / Noordstation – Liedts - Meiser - Diamant – Montgomery – Etterbeek – Buyl – Marie-José – Boondael / Boondaal
(31)	G. du Nord / Noordstation – Rogier - De Brouckère – G. du Midi / Zuidstation – Saint-Guidon / Sint-Guido – Marius Renard [Evenings only]
(32)	G. du Nord / Noordstation – Rogier - De Brouckère – G. du Midi / Zuidstation – Wiels - Forest / Vorst – Uccle / Ukkel – Stalle – Drogenbos [Evenings only]
(33)	Bordet – Tilleul / Linde - Verboekhoven - Liedts - G. du Nord / Noordstation – Rogier - De Brouckère – G. du Midi / Zuidstation – St. Gilles / Sint-Gillis - Albert – Vanderkindere – Uccle / Ukkel – Stalle [Evenings only]
39	Montgomery – Woluwe – Stockel / Stokkel – Ban-Eik
44	Montgomery – Woluwe – Forêt de Soignes / Zoniënwoud – Tervuren
51	Heysel / Heizel – Centenaire / Eeuwfeest - De Greef – Cim.Jette / Kerkhof van Jette – Yser / IJzer – Porte de Ninove / Ninoofse Poort – G. du Midi / Zuidstation – St. Gilles / Sint-Gillis - Albert – Uccle / Ukkel - Uccle Calevoet / Ukkel Kalevoet - Van Haelen
55	Bordet – Tilleul / Linde - Verboekhoven - Liedts - G. du Nord / Noordstation – Rogier [Day service only]
81	Montgomery – Merode – La Chasse / De Jacht – Flagey – Bailli / Baljuw - Janson – St. Gilles / Sint-Gillis – Verhaegen – G. du Midi / Zuidstation – Saint-Guidon / Sint-Guido – Marius Renard [Day service only]
82	Drogenbos – Stalle – Forest / Vorst – Wiels – G. du Midi / Zuidstation – Porte de Ninove / Ninoofse Poort – Gare de l’Ouest / Weststation – Berchem-Ste-Agathe / Sint-Agatha-Berchem – Berchem [Day service only]
(83)	Montgomery – Merode – La Chasse / De Jacht – Flagey – Bailli / Baljuw - Janson – St. Gilles / Sint-Gillis – Verhaegen – G. du Midi / Zuidstation – Porte de Ninove / Ninoofse Poort – Gare de l’Ouest / Weststation – Berchem-Ste-Agathe / Sint-Agatha-Berchem – Berchem [Evenings only]
92	Schaerbeek / Schaarbeek – Princesse Élisabeth / Prinses Elisabeth - Verboekhoven - Botanique / Kruidtuin – Louise/ Louiza – Janson – Vanderkindere – Uccle / Ukkel – Dieweg – Fort Jaco
94	Stade / Stadium – De Greef - Cim.Jette / Kerkhof van Jette – Bockstael – Liedts - Botanique / Kruidtuin – Louise / Louiza – Bailli / Baljuw - Legrand – Buyl – Marie-José – Boondael / Boondaal – Wiener – Hermann-Debroux
97	Louise/ Louiza – Janson – St. Gilles / Sint-Gillis – Wiels - Forest / Vorst – Stalle – Uccle / Ukkel – Dieweg

METRO ROUTES

1	Gare de l’Ouest / Weststation – Beekkant – De Brouckère – Gare Centrale / Centraal Station – Arts-Loi / Kunst-Wet – Merode – Montgomery – Stockel / Stokkel
2	Simonis – Rogier – Botanique / Kruidtuin – Arts-Loi / Kunst-Wet – Louise/ Louiza – Gare du Midi / Zuidstation – Gare de l’Ouest / Weststation – Beekkant – Simonis
5	Erasmus – Saint-Guidon / Sint-Guido – Gare de l’Ouest / Weststation – Beekkant – De Brouckère – Gare Centrale / Centraal Station – Arts-Loi / Kunst-Wet – Merode – Hermann-Debroux
6	Simonis – Rogier – Botanique / Kruidtuin – Arts-Loi / Kunst-Wet – Louise/ Louiza – Gare du Midi / Zuidstation – Gare de l’Ouest / Weststation – Beekkant – Simonis – Bockstael – Heysel / Heizel - Roi Baudouin/ Koning Boudewijn

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SYSTEM

NETWORK LENGTH

Trams: 133 km.
Métro: 41 km.

HISTORY

Urban trams: (horse-drawn) 1 May 1869 - ?; (steam) 1879 - ?; (electric) 1 May 1894 - today.
Interurban trams: (steam) 8 Sept. 1887 - 25 July 1937; (electric) 21 June 1894 - 31 July 1978.
Métro: (pré-métro) 1969 - today; (true métro) 20 Sept. 1976 - today.

GAUGE

Trams (TB, then STIB): 1435 mm.
Trams (CFE): 1000 mm.
Interurban trams (SNCV): 1000 mm.
Métro: 1435 mm.

TRAM PRESERVATION

The Brussels Tram Museum (Le musée du Transport Urbain Bruxellois / Het Brussels Trammuseum) in Woluwe has a large number of preserved Brussels trams and runs some of them regularly on the Brussels tram network for tourists.

SOURCES

PRINT

Brussels: Railway & tramway map. Exeter [England]: Quail Map Co., 1984.
Davies, W.J.K. The Vicinal story - Light railways in Belgium, 1885-1991. Scarborough [England]: Light Rail Transit Association, 2nd ed., 2006.
De Meurs, J. "The 1958 World Fair and the Brussels tramways", The Modern Tramway, Sept. 1958 (21:249), p.198-209.
Decock, P. La STIB quadragénaire: aspects divers d'une histoire mouvementée. Bruxelles. STIB, 1994.
Hansart, Y.-L. & Skelsey, G. "Brussels: Tramways plan for a rosy future", Tramways & Urban Transit, July 2005 (68:811), p.260-265.
Historique des lignes des tramways bruxellois. Bruxelles: Musée privé de documentation ferroviaire (MUPDOFER), 1990.
Kirk, D.D. "Vicinal Route List", Modern Tramway & Light Railway Review, Jan. 1963 (26:301), p.27-28.
Koenot, L., Justens, S. & Hamal, T. Tram 2000 - Flash 1996. Bruxelles: Hamal, 1996.
Pulling, N. "Systems Factfile No.50: Brussels, Belgium", Tramways & Urban Transit, Nov. 2011 (74: 887), p.435-438.
Pulling, N. "Systems Factfile No.178: Brussels, Belgium", Tramways & Urban Transit, Aug. 2022 (85: 1016), p.303-308.
Skelsey, G. "Brussels tramways: The last three years", Tramways & Urban Transit, Jan. 2002 (64:769), p.12-15.
Skelsey, G. "The end of the Brussels 7000-class PCCs", Tramways & Urban Transit, Apr. 2010 (73: 868), p.142-143.
Skelsey, G. "Tramways of the STIB since the Second World War", Tramways & Urban Transit, July 1999 (62:739), p.252-255.
Skelsey, G & Hansart, Y.-L. "Brussels: Developing the Metro", Tramways & Urban Transit, Apr. 2014 (77: 916), p.165-167.
Skelsey, G & Hansart, Y.-L. "Still growing: Brussels' tramway expands", Tramways & Urban Transit, March 2014 (77: 915), p.112-116.

WIKIS

WEB SITES

Also, thanks to Guy Cools (from Brussels, Belgium) and Joachim Nijs (from STIB/MIVB in Brussels, Belgium) for information obtained through personal communication.

Disclaimer: Everything on this site was written and/or prepared at the author's discretion. The author has tried to be accurate where facts are presented, but this does not mean that these facts are necessarily accurate. People needing more reliable information should refer to appropriate sources presented, on the Internet or elsewhere, by authoritative professional or academic bodies.

To get in touch with the webmaster, send an e-mail to g_sandi at hotmail.com.

Flags on this site are from the FOTW Flags Of The World website.

BRUXELLES / BRUSSEL – BRUSSELS

BELGIQUE / BELGIË – BELGIUM

31 Aug. 2009