TRAM IN BRUSSELS

TRAM IN BRUSSELS
Last edited 2 months ago by Sladen
Trams in Brussels
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Brussels tramway network

A Bombardier T3000 in Brussels, 2010.
Operation
Locale Brussels, Belgium
Routes 19 (2013)[1]
Owner(s) Brussels-Capital Region
Operator(s) STIB/MIVB
Infrastructure
Track gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in)
Propulsion system(s) Electricity
Electrification 600 V DC
Statistics
Route length 138.9 km (86.3 mi)[2]
Passengers (2012) 123.5 million[3]
Horsecar era: 1869–ca. 1900
Status Converted to electricity
Track gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in)
Propulsion system(s) Horses
Steam tram era: 1876–1877, 1879
Status Experiments abandoned
Track gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in)
Propulsion system(s) Steam
Accumulator tram era: 1883, 1886–1889
Status Experiments abandoned
Track gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in)
Propulsion system(s) Rechargable batteries
Electric tram era: since 1894
Status Still Running
Owner(s) Brussels-Capital Region
Operator(s) STIB/MIVB
(since 1954)
Minimum curve radius {{{era4_minimum_radius_of_curvature}}}
Overview

Brussels tramway network, 2009.
Website STIB/MIVB (English)
The Brussels tram (or streetcar) system is a transport system in Brussels, Belgium. It is one of the ten largest tram systems in the world, carrying some 123.5 million passengers in 2012.[3] In 2013, the Brussels tram system consists of 19 tram lines[1] (three of which – lines T3, T4 and T7 – qualify as premetro lines).[4] As of 2011, the tram system's total route length was 138.9 km (86.3 mi),[2] making it one of the larger tram networks in Europe. Its development has demonstrated many of the quandaries that face local public transport planners. The Brussels tram system also has a number of interesting peculiarities.

HistoryEdit


Old route 103 near Rogier.
The first horse-drawn trams were introduced in Brussels in 1869, running from the Porte de Namur to the Bois de la Cambre.[5] The first electric tramway came to Brussels in 1894.[5]

Intermodal integrationEdit

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 3.3 kilometres 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 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 and the metro, and is gradually being extended to other modes, although it is not yet accepted by De Lijn or TEC. A simple tariff system permits unlimited changes with a one-hour period for €2.50 when bought from the driver, €2.00 from a ticket machine.

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 (in PCC trams) or an illuminated button (on Flexity trams), and drivers usually make a point of waiting for latecomers. However, overcrowding at rush hours and at weekend is common. Fare-dodging is reputedly quite high, 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.

RoutesEdit


A tram at Porte de Hal premetro station

Platforms of Boileau premetro station, clearly showing the dual platform heights
As of 2013, there are 19 tram routes,[1] totaling 138.9 kilometres (86.3 mi),[2] and serving most parts of the city, including the two partial ring routes (T7 and T92). The tram routes have a very varied feel, including street running through narrow streets in working-class districts (lines T81 and T83), cobbled central reservation, reserved track through parkland and woods (T44), signal-controlled running in tunnels (the premetro lines T3, T4 and T7), and short stretches in cutting (the old route T18, closed in 2007). Almost all trams are double-ended and all are double-sided, and while some stub termini remain (T4, T51, T97), most have loops. 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 had a gauge of one metre, rather than the Brussels 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 St-Gilles/Bareel St-Gillis. Though all seven roads at this circular junction originally had tram lines, only three of the original seven remain.[6] 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 South 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 Place Bara but the metro stays on the left as far as the Roi Baudouin terminus.

There is no tram priority at traffic lights, but the track layout is used to avoid hold-ups on route T92 at the Ma Campagne and Place Janson crossroads, which lie 300 metres 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 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 North 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 T3 and T4 during the day, branded Chrono. Tram line T55 from Schaerbeek (north of Brussels) that used to use the North-South Axis now terminates at Rogier. The old line T52 was replaced by line T3 in the north (from Brussels-South railway station to Thomas and from Van Praet to Esplanade), T82 (from Drogenbos to Lemonnier) and T32 in the south. The old tram line T56 was also eliminated.

A previously implemented part of the plan was the creation of line T25 in April 2007. Line T25 goes from Rogier to the Boondael/Boondaal railway station following the route of the ex-line T90 from Rogier to Buyl, then leaves the outer ring towards the Université Libre de Bruxelles campus of Solbosch.

On March 14, 2011, old lines T23 and T24 were merged to create the new eastern semicircular premetro line T7 which runs almost entirely in its own right of way from Heizel/Heysel in the north to Vanderkindere in the south.

High-floor and low-floor trams
Rolling StockEdit


A PCC leaving Place Rogier/Rogierplein for South/Midi station, before the opening of the North-South premetro. The tram stop in the background was also used by the Vicinal, which had its terminal loop here.
As of July 2010, STIB operates the following trams, stabled at five depots:

Tramcar Type Depot Allocations Count
PCC 7700/7800 All 128
PCC 7900 ? 61
Bombardier T2000 Ixelles, Schaerbeek 51
Bombardier T3000 ? 151
Bombardier T4000 ? 35
Total 326
Livery
2010 Vancouver Olympics
Heritage trams
Route list
Statistics
See also
References
Footnotes
External links
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