The North–South Axis is a

tram A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...

tunnel in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

, which crosses the city centre from North to South between

Brussels-North railway station Brussels-North railway station (french: Gare de Bruxelles-Nord, nl, Station Brussel-Noord), officially Brussels-North (french: Bruxelles-Nord, link=no, nl, Brussel-Noord, link=no), is one of the three major railway stations in Brussels, Bel ...

and

Albert premetro station The Albert premetro station is an underground tram station located on the border between the municipalities of Saint-Gilles and Forest in Brussels, Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, ...

. The first section of this tunnel was opened on 4 October 1976 between Brussels-North and

Lemonnier premetro station Lemonnier premetro station is a ''premetro'' (underground tram) station in central Brussels, Belgium, located near the crossroads between the / and the Small Ring (Brussels' inner ring road). The station in part of the North–South Axis, a tra ...

. It was then expanded to Albert in 1993. It is currently used by tram routes 3, 4, 51 and 82 as well as evening routes 31, 32 and 33. Only routes 3, 4 and 33 use the full tunnel. Routes 31 and 32 use it between the North and South station, route 51 between Lemonnier and Albert and route 82 between Lemonnier and

Brussels-South railway station Brussels-South railway station (french: Gare de Bruxelles-Midi, nl, Station Brussel-Zuid, IATA code: ZYR), officially Brussels-South (french: Bruxelles-Midi, link=no, nl, Brussel-Zuid, link=no), is a major railway station in Brussels, Belgium ...

Circuit and stations

To the north, the North–South Axis starts in the municipality of

Schaerbeek (French language, French and History of Dutch orthography, archaic Dutch, ) or (contemporary Dutch language, Dutch, ) is one of the List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, 19 municipalities of the Brussels, Brussels-Capital Re ...

near the crossroad between / and /. The first station in the tunnel is Brussels-North, which offers a connection with the railway station of the same name. The tunnel then crosses the municipality of

Saint-Josse-ten-Noode Saint-Josse-ten-Noode () or Sint-Joost-ten-Node (), often simply called Saint-Josse or Sint-Joost, is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the north-eastern part of the region, it is bordered by the Ci ...

up to

Rogier station Rogier is a rapid transit station in Brussels, Belgium, consisting of both a metro station (on the northern segment of lines 2 and 6) and a ''premetro'' (underground tram) station (serving lines 3 and 4 on the North–South Axis between Br ...

where it connects with the

Brussels metro The Brussels Metro (french: Métro de Bruxelles, nl, Brusselse metro) is a rapid transit system serving a large part of the Brussels-Capital Region of Belgium. It consists of four conventional metro lines and three ''premetro'' lines. The me ...

. It then enters the

City of Brussels The City of Brussels (french: Ville de Bruxelles or alternatively ''Bruxelles-Ville'' ; nl, Stad Brussel or ''Brussel-Stad'') is the largest municipality and historical City centre, centre of the Brussels, Brussels-Capital Region, as well a ...

, and stops at De Brouckère (with again a connection with the metro), Bourse/Beurs, Anneessens and Lemonnier. At Lemonnier, a tunnel entry allows trams to enter or leave the tunnel at this point. The tunnel then crosses Saint-Gilles, stopping at

(where it connects with the train and the metro), at Porte de Hal/Hallepoort (where it connects with the metro), at Parvis de Saint-Gilles/Sint-Gillis Voorplein, and at Horta. At Brussels-South railway station, another entry allows trams to leave or enter the tunnel. The last stop is Albert, and is located at the border between the municipalities of Saint-Gilles and

Forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

. Two different tunnel entries are then located on / on the greater ring road and on /.

Metro line 3

The North-South axis will become an actual metro line, Metro line 3. In phase 1, the existing tram tunnel will be transformed into a metro line. Lemonnier station will not be served by the metro. Instead there will be a new metro station, "Toots Thielemans" between Brussels-South station and Anneessens. The metro line should be operational by 2025. In phase 2 of the project, metro line 3 will be extended from Brussels-North station to

Bordet railway station Bordet railway station (french: Gare de Bordet, nl, Station Bordet), officially Bordet, is a railway station in the municipality of Evere in Brussels, Belgium, operated by the National Railway Company of Belgium (NMBS/SNCB). The station lies on ...

. Seven new stations and a depot will be built for this purpose. Construction should be done by 2030. STIB M3 plan

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:North-South Axis (Brussels) Tram transport in Brussels City of Brussels Forest, Belgium Saint-Gilles, Belgium Saint-Josse-ten-Noode Schaerbeek

Circuit and stations

Metro line 3

See also

References