Tram traffic on lines 3, 4, 25 and 55 will be interrupted for three days over the Easter weekend due to works for metro line 3 between Porte de Hal and the Thomas tunnel.
Brussels' public transport operator STIB announced that no trams will run on lines 3, 4, 25 and 55 between the two stops for three days over the Easter weekend. The tramlines will be interrupted from 21:00 on Friday until the end of service on Monday. The disruption is the result of work on the controversial metro line 3 connecting Evere in the north of Brussels to Forest in the south.
"The North-South pre-metro line, between Albert and Brussels-North, will be converted into metro line 3 in a few years," STIB spokesperson An Van hamme explained. Work will be carried out on three construction sites for this conversion during the long weekend from Friday 29 March to Monday 1 April. "To avoid several consecutive interruptions for passengers, tram traffic on the North-South axis will be suspended."
Palais du Midi in Brussels is currently under discussion in the project of the new metro line 3. Credit: Belga / Timon Ramboer
Tram 3 (Esplanade to Churchill) will be interrupted between Masui and Porte de Hal, while tram 4 (Brussels-North to Stalle) will be interrupted between Brussels-North and Porte de Hal. Trams 25 (Rogier to Boondael Station) and 55 (Rogier to Da Vinci) will be diverted from Liedts to Masui.
The stations Anneessens, Bourse, De Brouckère, Rogier and Brussels-North will not be served by trams during the works, while Lemonnier and Brussels-Midi will only be served by trams 51 and 82.
Focus on key tunnel
A new switch will be installed between Anneessens and Bourse to prepare for the future conversion of the North-South pre-metro line into a fully-fledged metro.
STIB will also open the wall between the new Constitution metro tunnel and the existing pre-metro tunnel under Place Bara. The Constitution tunnel will link the future Toots Thielemans station near Midi to the existing pre-metro tunnel, once it has been converted for metro vehicles. It is also replacing a switch on Rue du Progrès, between the Brussels-North and Thomas stops, as part of its regular network maintenance.
Shuttle buses will be made available for passengers. For tramlines 3 and 4, buses will run between De Brouckère and Verboekhoven via Masui. They will also call at the Rogier and Brussels-North stops. To reach the city centre from a stop between Churchill/Stalle and Porte de Hal, people can take bus 48 towards Anneessens (Albert or Porte de Hal stop), or bus 52 towards Central Station (Porte de Hal stop).
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For tramline 25, the Brussels-North and Rogier stops are served by shuttle buses between Verboekhoven and De Brouckère, and these buses will make the connection at the Masui stop. Finally, passengers who normally take tram 55, also diverted from the Liedts stop to the Masui stop, can take the bus between diverted stops at Masui, Verboekhoven or Pavilion.
Staff will inform and guide passengers at Porte de Hal, Brussels-Midi, De Brouckère, Rogier and Brussels-North. "Passengers with STIB tickets will be able to use SNCB trains between Brussels-Midi and Brussels-North free of charge throughout the works," Van hamme noted.
