Metro lines 1 and 5 in Brussels will once again be temporarily suspended for four Sundays this summer to test a new signalling system.
This was announced by the Brussels public transport company STIB/MIVB on Thursday.
On Sunday 5 and Sunday 19 July, metro services on Line 1 will be restricted to Merode until 12.30 pm and diverted to Herrmann-Debroux. Replacement buses will run between Merode and Stokkel.
On Sunday 2 and Sunday 30 August, metro services on Line 5 will run only as far as Gare de l'Ouest until 00:30. Here too, replacement buses will run to Erasmus.
The new Communication-Based Train Control (CBTC) technology is intended to make the metro network more reliable and flexible, whilst maintaining safety standards.
The installation of the new signalling technology has now been completed on the branches to Erasmus and Stokkel.
By the end of the year, the section between Jacques Brel and Merode should also be fitted out. The final section, the part of the branch to Herrmann-Debroux, will follow in early 2027.
The new signalling technology forms part of a wider modernisation of the metro network. This also includes the purchase of new M7 metro trains and the refurbishment of the older M6 trains.
For the time being, the new metro trains are only operating on lines 1 and 5. In order for them to also run on lines 2 and 6, the signalling on those lines must first be upgraded.
The plan is to install a ‘light’ version of CBTC there in the first phase. Within a few years, the M7 metro trains should then be able to run on all metro lines.
