On Wednesday, STIB announced the construction of the new tram line 10 will begin soon. However, the line is a topic of debate among the residents of Neder-Over-Heembeek, reports La Dernière Heure.
The tram line will be 5.5 kilometres long and will connect the Military Hospital in Neder to Rogier via Vekemans Street, the commercial street of Neder-Over-Heembeek. The line will allow the revitalisation of the district, whose commerce has suffered in recent decades, according to Brussels counsellor Arnaud Pinxteren. It is one of the many projects planned by STIB over the next two years.
"We used to say we were going to the city. Now Neder is the city", said Pinxteren, who spent his childhood in the district, which now boasts 32,000 inhabitants. "Neder is no longer a village, nor will it ever be again".
The 10-minute project will allow the people of Brussels to have public facilities such as public transport, schools and nurseries, sports and cultural centres, and local shops within 10 minutes of their homes.
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Work on the tram line will be completed in autumn 2024, STIB announced.
Tram line 10 will have ten stops: Hôpital Militaire, Mercator, Antoon Van Oss, Trassersweg, Nelson Mandela, Chemin Vert, Peter Benoit, Zavelput and Ancre.
It will then join the existing network at the Heembeek stop and continue to Rogier via Jules de Trooz. Along the way, the tram will connect with trams 7 and 25, buses 47, 53 and 56, and metro lines 2 to 6 (as well as many others in Rogier).
The line is expected to attract 1,600 to 2,400 passengers per hour during rush hour, according to STIB estimates.
Opposition to tram 10
However, Tram line 10 has not been met with unanimous excitement, made evident by the many "No to the Tram in NOH" signs in windows and the petition with over 2,500 signatures in 2021.
Sud Presse reported that the collective confirmed that an appeal has been lodged. "We lodged an appeal for cancellation and ordinary suspension to the Council of State at the beginning of January within the 60-day deadline," said Claude, a representative of the Collectif Non au Tram à NOH. "For the moment, the start of the construction site has no impact. So we still have some time to file an emergency appeal."
The Mayor of Brussels responded to the critisism. "I can't please everyone. I announced before the elections that the tram in Neder-Over-Heembeek was in my plans. So it's not a surprise. There will always be people who are unhappy."
