De Lijn has announced that several of its bus lines serving Brussels will be rerouted during the Moroccan football team's Africa Cup of Nations group stage matches.
The adjusted service will be in place on the evenings of 26 and 29 December, with buses mainly avoiding the north of the city in the areas around Gare du Nord, Laeken, and Molenbeek.
The changes concern the following lines: R14, R15, R24, R26, R27, R28, R29, R30, R31, R40, R41, R50, R60, R81, R90, 714, 727, 728, and X60. In particular, the R28 line to Ninove will skip all stops from Gare du Nord to Gare de l'Ouest.
The capital's own transport authority, STIB, has not announced any changes to its schedule, meaning the metro, tram, and other bus lines will not be affected.
The Flemish transport company made the decision over fears of unrest during and after the matches, a spokesperson indicated to Bruzz. The transport company says it took into account the violent incidents which followed the World Cup match between Belgium and Morocco three years ago.
"We conducted a risk analysis and the network planning department decided to take limited preventative measures," De Lijn told Bruzz. “You can't blame us for being a little more cautious, both for the sake of the equipment and our staff. To guarantee safety, I think passengers would rather take a detour.”
A spokesperson for the Bruxelles-Ouest police told the outlet that the bus service changes had not been made at their request. According to Bruzz, neither the Brussels-Capital/Ixelles nor the Brussels-North police forces had been made aware of De Lijn's plans either.
Moroccan team's links to Brussels
Morocco, who are hosting this year’s edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, won their opening match against Comoros on Sunday. The Atlas Lions will take on Mali on Friday at 9pm and Zambia on Monday at 8pm.
While no Belgian channel has bought the rights to broadcast the competition, viewing parties were organised by the city's Moroccan diaspora for the tournament's curtain-raiser.
Several members of the host country's squad also have links to Belgium. Striker Chemsdine Talbi is half-Belgian and grew up in Molenbeek, while midfielder Bilal El Khannouss is also from the capital. Another midfielder, Ismael Saibari, grew up in Willebroek in the province of Antwerp and played for the youth teams of Anderlecht, Mechelen, and Genk before leaving the country for PSV Eindhoven.
