On Monday evening around 18:00, all train traffic between Brussels North and Brussels Midi stations has been halted after the Brussels Central train station was evacuated due to a fire alarm going off.
As a result of the intervention by the emergency services to put out a cable fire in Brussels Central station, train traffic on the route between Brussels-North and Brussels-Midi is currently interrupted.
"Flames were seen in the opening of the tunnel tracks 3 and 4. Brussels firefighters are on site," a spokesperson for the Brussels fire service Walter Derieuw told reporters. "Fortunately there was more fear than harm: an electrical device caught on fire at the end of the platform. Extinction in progress with powder extinguishers."
Around 17:45, burning cables were spotted on track 4 in the tunnel, Infrabel spokesperson Frederic Petit confirmed. Train traffic was therefore out of service for 25 minutes. "At 18:10 we received permission to resume train traffic on four of the six tracks," he added. Still, tracks 3 and 4 remain closed for the time being to investigate the cause of the fire.
However, as Brussels Central is the busiest station in the country, the effects of the brief interruption will be felt throughout the evening in delays and cancelled trains. It is not yet clear what caused the fire. "Is it vandalism or an electrical appliance of ours that caught fire? We still need to investigate that."
Credit: Brussels Fire Service
