As anticipated, the day of action for International Women's Rights Day on Friday is resulting in "heavy disruptions" on public transport and across the city centre in Brussels.
Brussels public transport operator STIB previously predicted major disruption to its network due to the participation of some of its staff in the strike. On Friday morning, the company announced that only Metro lines 1 and 5 will be running throughout the day.
For trams, lines 3, 4, 7 (but only between Vanderkindere and Docks Bruxsel), 8, 9, 18, 51 and 92 are the only ones running, as are bus lines 12, 36, 46, 50, 53, 56, 59, 60, 65, 71, 73, 87 (extended from Simonis to Etangs Noirs/Zwarte Vijvers), 88 and 95, as well as T-bus 3 (extended from Esplanade to Heysel/Heizel).
"All other lines are not served and frequencies are lower than on a normal day," STIB said. The Noctis night buses will also not be running tonight.
Additionally, the actions taking place in the city centre throughout the day could also have an impact on bus and tram traffic on certain lines. "To the extent possible, we ask travellers to plan an alternative public transport solution when travelling in Brussels today."
The company will keep passengers up to date in real-time via its social media channels, the STIB app and on the screens at the stops.
Disruption in the city centre
The Brussels police also warned that the march passing through the city will cause disruptions on Friday. "The procession will depart from Central Station to Place Poelaert and then back to Central Station," the Brussels-Capital/Ixelles police zone announced on social media.
People are advised to avoid the Carrefour de l'Europe, Boulevard de l'Empereur, Place Poelaert, Place Royale and the Ravenstein and Cantersteen areas. "Traffic disruptions are expected from 17:00."
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The national day of action is not expected to lead to (major) public transport disruptions in the rest of Belgium.
"More people may be on the trains to Brussels than usual, but we do not expect any disruption on the network," Bart Crols, spokesperson for Belgian rail company SNCB, told The Brussels Times earlier this week.
Flemish and Walloon public transport companies De Lijn and TEC confirmed that they are not expecting significant disruptions either.
