In light of recent incidents of people getting trapped in the metro station roller shutters, Brussels Mobility has launched a plan to replace the shutters of several stations with ones that cannot be forced open.
Since March there have been four separate incidents of people getting trapped in the metro shutters. One incident ended with a fatality, and in another, the man involved was intoxicated.
The reasons for the other incidents are unconfirmed but are widely believed to be homeless people trying to enter the metro to sleep at night.
"Given the increase in the number of incidents, we intend to work more proactively and not only replace defective roller shutters but also replace the roller shutters in the places where incidents occur," Brussels Mobility spokesperson Inge Paemen told BRUZZ.
The metro stations in which there have already been accidents are the Rogier, Porte de Hal, Porte de Namur and Parvis de Saint-Gilles. In total, ten shutters will be replaced in the coming year, VRT reported. According to what STIB's spokesperson Guy Sablon told BRUZZ, the new shutters will not be able to be forced open.
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Brussels Mobility is reportedly looking at covering more stations with the renovation plan but is still awaiting the green light from the Brussels-Capital Region Government.
"Brussel Mobility has drawn up a multi-year plan for the replacement of the shutter and has also allocated personnel and financial resources," Paemen said. "In order to speed up the process, additional financial resources and, above all, extra personnel will be needed."
