Trams in Brussels
The Brussels tramway network is a tram system serving a large part of the Brussels-Capital Region of Belgium. It is the 16th largest tram system in the world by route length, in 2017 providing 149.1 million journeys over routes in length. In 2018, it consisted of 18 tram lines. Brussels trams are operated by STIB/MIVB, the local public transport company.
The network's development has faced issues including the inconsistent route pattern resulting from the closure of the interurban trams, the conflict between low-floor surface trams and high-floor underground trams, and whether the trams run on the right or the left.
History
Before the First World War
Belgium's first horse-drawn trams were introduced in Brussels in 1869, running from the Namur Gate to the Bois de la Cambre/Ter Kamerenbos. In 1877, a steam tram was introduced but it was not powerful enough for the hilly terrain and the tests were stopped. Simultaneously the Tramways Bruxellois experimented with a locomotive built in Tubize, but it did not work either. The components proved too fragile and this experiment was also discontinued. In 1887, experiments were made with accumulator trams, but these had a very limited range. Trolley power, used in Liège, was also tried in Brussels and in 1894 Brussels' first electric tram lines were laid from the Place Stéphanie/Stefanieplein to Uccle.Several companies built their own tram lines until the turn of the century, the most important being Les Tramways Bruxellois : founded on 23 December 1874 on the merger of the Belgian Street Railways and Omnibus Company Limited led by Albert Vaucamp and the Société des Voies ferrées Belges led by William Morris. The TB started with five horse tramlines: Schaerbeek–Room Forest, Uccle–Place Stephanie , Place Liedts–Saint-Gilles, Laeken–South, and Laeken–Anderlecht. Another was Société générale des Chemins de Fer Économiques, popularly known as the chocolate trams because of their colour: known before 1880 as Compagnie Générale de Tramways. The CFE electrified its lines from 1904 onwards. These lines had the Bourse Palace as their central hub.
In addition, there were smaller companies: Tramways de Bruxelles à Evere et Extensions: founded in 1883, and Chemin de Fer à Voie Etroite de Bruxelles à Ixelles-Boondael : founded in 1884, and taken over by the TB on 28 April 1899. These last two companies used track and started with steam traction instead of with horse trams. In 1899, the TB was granted a 45-year concession on condition that the whole network was electrified, a condition that was met in the following years. Until the First World War, many investments were made in the network, such as heavier rails and more powerful trams. The vicinal/buurtspoor networks set up city services.
After the First World War
Tram services were not restored to normality until 1925. During the war, there was poor maintenance, many horses were requisitioned and tram equipment was used for military purposes. On 1 January 1928, the TB and CFE networks merged, leaving only the TB and the vicinal/buurtspoor network in operation. The CFE was known for its 'chocolate bars' so named because of their dark brown livery; several examples can still be admired in the Brussels Tram Museum. The CFE personnel also wore brown uniforms. In 1928, the CFE lines were renumbered within the TB system. In 1935, the Brussels tram network was long, making it one of the largest tram networks in Europe. There were almost 100 tram lines, including many direct connections between the various boroughs. For the Brussels International Exposition of 1935, the famous '5000-series' trams, the first in Brussels with two bogies, were put into service.Because the TB concession expired on 31 December 1945, an agreement was concluded between the State and the Province of Brabant to continue the operation of the Brussels trams. A provisional management committee was set up, which functioned until the foundation, on 1 January 1954, of the Brussels Intercommunal Transport Company. Great efforts were made to catch up on overdue maintenance and 787 motor trams were modernised to the Brussels standard type. The electro-pneumatic brake was introduced in these cars and the conductor and driver had permanent seats.
Growing traffic congestion led to plans to build reserved tracks for trams, and in the city centre to put them in tunnel. In 1957, the first tunnel was opened near the congested Place de la Constitution/Grondwetplein, between Brussels-South railway station and Lemonnier. From 1969, trams were adapted to run in tunnel, using block signalling.
In addition to the major refurbishment of the standard cars, STIB/MIVB had a great need for modern equipment to serve the 1958 Brussels World's Fair, to which its organisers wished to provide public transport access from the whole city. To this end, large turning loops for hundreds of trams were laid out in the exhibition grounds. In 1952, the PCC car entered Brussels with motor car 7001, the start of a series of 172 cars. Over the years, many series of single-ended versions and double-ended versions followed. Eventually, the PCC car entirely replaced motor car and trailer combinations.
The development of the premetro, a tram-unfriendly policy and a constant shortage of funds led to a deterioration of the Brussels tram system well into the 1990s, with many routes being replaced by metro lines or converted to bus routes. Only with investment in new equipment and the upgrading and improvement of the tram network did the balance turn positive.
Intermodal integration
The system exists in a somewhat unusual local government context, because Brussels is a self-governing region, as an enclave within Flanders, although only some from Wallonia at the closest point. This means that three-way deals are necessary between Brussels' own STIB/MIVB, Flanders' De Lijn and Wallonia's TEC.STIB/MIVB sees itself as a provider of mobility rather than just public transport, and has a 49% share in the Cambio carsharing franchise. The Brussels conurbation—19 municipalities plus adjoining commuter belt—is also served by a fairly dense network of main-line trains. The MOBIB contactless smart card can be used on buses, trams, the metro and for mainline railway season tickets, and is gradually being extended to other modes, although it is not yet accepted for single journeys by De Lijn. A simple tariff system permits unlimited changes with a one-hour period for €2.50 when bought from the driver, €2.10 from a ticket machine. Real-time arrival indicators have been installed at many tram stops. On 1 July 2020, contactless payment by debit card, credit card, smartphone or smartwatch was introduced.
Ridership has been rising, and user-friendly features that have grown up through custom and practice help this. For instance, passengers open the doors by pressing a green strip on the central pole or an illuminated button, and drivers usually make a point of waiting for latecomers. However, overcrowding in peak hours and at weekends is common. The rate of detected fare-dodging is 4.15%, despite periodic enforcement campaigns, and this is being addressed by the installation of ticket barriers in all metro stations. From 2013, the obligation to check out of as well as into the system is being progressively introduced.
Routes
Development of the network
As of 2017, there are 17 tram routes, totalling, and serving most parts of the city, including three partial ring routes. The routes have a very varied feel, including street running through narrow streets in working-class districts, cobbled central reservation, reserved track through parkland and woods, signal-controlled running in tunnels, and short stretches in cutting. 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, rather than the Brussels, and so the tracks could not easily be taken over when the lines were progressively closed from the 1960s onwards.File:Metro-halleepoort.jpg|thumb|left|A tram at Porte de Hal/Hallepoort premetro station
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 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 and additional vehicles, 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 is now used only by lines 3 and 4 during the day, branded Chrono. Tram line 55 from Schaerbeek that used to use the North–South Axis now terminates at Rogier. The old line 52 was replaced by line 3 in the north, 82 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 '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.