Going to Tour & Taxis, Brussels’ Central Station or the airport? The STIB-MIVB Tram Plan includes 13 major projects and 40 kilometres of additional tram tracks over the next few years. In this blog post, you’ll discover how many new tram lines and extensions to existing lines Brussels will have by 2035. We even tell you where you can take them.
The bus plan has been almost fully implemented and has resulted in a significant expansion of the bus network. The new metro line 3 is under construction. Tram lines 8 and 9 have also been added in recent years. But it doesn’t stop there, thanks to the tram plan recently approved by the Brussels government.
While the tram was virtually dead and gone in the 1980’s – in 1983 it was even decided to dismantle the network, but fortunately this didn’t happen due to widespread protest – this plan confirms the prominent role that the tram plays in Brussels.
What 13 new features can you expect?
1. The airport tram
The tram plan means to arrange a connection to the airport. You can already reach it by car, bus, and train. Thanks to the extension of line 62, in collaboration with Flanders, it will also be possible to reach the airport by tram in the future. Once the line is in place, Bordet station (also the terminus of the future metro line 3) will form an indispensable multimodal hub in this part of the Brussels region.
2. Tram 10 to Neder-Over-Heembeek
Construction of this tram line is in full swing. It runs from Rogier to Neder-over-Heembeek (NoH) and offers residents of north-east Brussels a direct connection to the city centre. The route is 9.6 kilometres long, runs through five Brussels municipalities and counts 19 stops. Tram 10 can carry 1,800 passengers per hour. You’ll be able to take the tram at the end of 2024.
3. Mediatram
The Mediatram? That’s a tram line that will run through the brand-new “media park” on boulevard Auguste Reyers/Auguste Reyerslaan, where the new VRT and RTBF buildings will be located. It will then run along rue Colonel Bourg/Colonel Bourgstraat, next to the E40, and will have Kraainem as its terminus. The Mediatram will serve major hubs in the east of the city, such as the Marcel Thiry neighbourhood , the UCL campus, the Saint-Luc hospital, etc.
There are also major changes in store for Meiser. A station will be built underneath this notorious intersection, followed by an extension of line 7 to Albert station and eventually Wiels. Albert will become more than ever a transfer hub for the south of Brussels.
4. Central Ring West
With this tram connection, STIB-MIVB aims to anticipate the strong development of the west of Brussels. In fact, it involves the conversion of part of bus lines 49 and 53 into a tram line.
5. Extension of tram line 8 from Herrmann-Debroux to ADEPS
Tram 8 will eventually continue from Herrmann-Debroux to the Rouge Cloître/Rood Klooster neighbourhood and the sports centre of ADEPS, the Walloon counterpart of Sport Vlaanderen (formerly Bloso).
6. Extension line 8 Roodebeek – Bordet
Line 8 will also be extended from Roodebeek to Bordet, which will become a real transfer hub for metro line 3 and the airport tram.
7. Bypass Roosevelt – De Mot
Thanks to a bypass between avenue Emile De Mot/Emile De Motlaan and avenue Roosevelt/Rooseveltlaan, trams running between Louise/Louiza and Watermael-Boitsfort/Watermaal-Bosvoorde can save a considerable amount of time. In addition, the intervention can relieve the tram network, which is currently saturated, with benefits for line 7 as well. This includes avenue Buyl/Buyllaan and the intersection, as well as the Legrand terminus. This also benefits lines 7, 25, 71 and 93. The bypass is planned for 2028.
8. Heysel Plateau: Roi Baudouin/Koning Boudewijn – Esplanade (access via Parking C)
This connection links the terminuses Roi Baudouin/Koning Boudewijn (tram 9, metro 6) and Esplanade (tram 3). The aim is simple: to increase the number of options for operating the lines that run there. The fact that this neighbourhood is a major attraction for the region, with major events among other things, obviously plays an important role.
The intention is also to have a stop at Parking C, so that motorists have a fast connection. In the longer term, the network would be extended to the north of Brussels, along the A12, as part of the Flemish government’s Brabantnet.
9. Tram 95
If you take the current bus line 95 yourself, you have undoubtedly noticed that the buses are sometimes overcrowded. A tram provides much more space. The study for the route of this new line is still ongoing, but it is certain that it will be our next structural line. How? In combination with the tram to Tour & Taxis, you can travel from the north-west to the south-east of the city without having to change lines. This line will fill a missing link in our tram network.
10. Tram Tour & Taxis – Gare Central/Centraal Station
These plans are already several years old but are now becoming a reality. Thanks to this line, you’ll be able to take the tram from Gare du Nord/Noordstation, via Belgica station, to Tour & Taxis. In a second phase, the tram will continue to Gare Central/Centraal Station, a major transport hub with many bus lines, the metro and the train, and will eventually be extended to line 95.
11. Connection Bockstael-Sobieski
A tram connection between Bockstael and Sobieski (and towards Parking C) would enable the preferred route of the “Sneltram A12”. This express tram is a Flemish project that provides a fast tram connection between Willebroek, north of Brussels, and Gare du Nord/Noordstation. This tram is also part of the Brabant network.
12. Connection Albert – Rochefort
This connection is necessary to realise the Central Ring West. It facilitates the passage of trams from the south-east to the west of Brussels, without having to pass through the busy city centre.
13. Central Ring East
Tram 7, which currently covers most of the Central Ring East, is virtually at capacity, especially between Meiser and Dockx. This is only expected to increase. Currently, no more trams can run on this line unless the sections shared with lines 3 and 25 are removed. This is good news, as it is provided for in the tram plan, thanks to the arrival of the Mediatram, the airport tram and tram 10 (NoH).
New trams
Conversion of premetro on the north-east axis
Thanks to the conversion of the premetro on the north-south axis into a real metro line, 21 large T4000 trams will be freed up for use on other lines. In addition, there are the new trams (TNG) that were put into service after thorough testing and for which a new depot is planned at Heysel/Heizel.
150 kilometres of tracks
All in all, this means that 40 kilometres of additional tram tracks will be added in the long term, resulting in a complete network of 150 kilometres. This tram plan has a clear ambition: to make Brussels public transport even more efficient, sustainable and interesting for our passengers.