nl, Metrolijn 2 , color= , image=Brussels metro Delacroix02.jpg , caption=Train at

Delacroix Delacroix is a French surname that derives from ''de la Croix'' ("of the Cross"). It may refer to: People * Caroline Delacroix (1883–1945), French-Romanian mistress of Leopold II of Belgium * Charles-François Delacroix (1741–1805), ...

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Rapid transit Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT), also known as heavy rail or metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport generally found in urban areas. A rapid transit system that primarily or traditionally runs below the surface may be ...

, system=

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 ...

, start= Simonis , end= Elisabeth , open= , lastextension= , operator= Brussels Intercommunal Transport Company , stock=U5 , depot= Jacques Brel , stations=19 , linelength_km=10.4 , gauge= , electrification=900 V DC (

Third rail A third rail, also known as a live rail, electric rail or conductor rail, is a method of providing electric power to a railway locomotive or train, through a semi-continuous rigid conductor placed alongside or between the rails of a railway ...

) , connectinglines= Line 2 on the

is a

rapid transit Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT), also known as heavy rail or metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport generally found in urban areas. A rapid transit system that primarily or traditionally runs below the surface may be ...

line 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 ...

operated by STIB/MIVB. It exists in its current form since April 4, 2009, when the section between

Delacroix metro station Delacroix is a Brussels Metro station on lines 2 and 6. It is located in the municipality of Anderlecht, in the western part of Brussels, Belgium. It is an elevated station, running parallel to the /, and forming a bridge-viaduct over the B ...

and Gare de l'Ouest/Weststation was opened, which allowed to close the loop from and to Simonis/Elisabeth. The configuration of the Simonis/Elisabeth metro station though does not allow trains on the line 2 to be able to perform the loop several consecutive times in the same direction, i.e. a train running clockwise from Elisabeth will have to run counterclockwise from Simonis. The two termini of line 2 have thus received different names: originally ''Simonis (Elisabeth)'' and ''Simonis (Leopold II)'', changed in November 2013 to ''Elisabeth'' and ''Simonis''. Between the

Yser/IJzer metro station Yser (French) or IJzer (Dutch) is a Brussels Metro station on the northern segment of lines 2 and 6. It opened on 2 October 1988 and is located under the Small Ring (Brussels' inner ring road) between the / and the / in the municipality of t ...

and the Porte de Hal/Hallepoort station, the line runs under the small ring road of Brussels, which is itself built on the former

Second walls of Brussels The Fortifications of Brussels (french: Fortifications de Bruxelles, nl, Vestingwerken van Brussel) refers to the medieval city walls that surrounded Brussels, Belgium, built primarily to defend the city but also for administrative reasons. The ...

. The first stations on the small ring road were opened in 1970 with tramways connecting

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 ...

with Porte de Namur/Naamsepoort metro station. The Louise/Louiza metro station was opened in 1985 and the Simonis metro station in 1986 but it is only in 1988 that the actual metro line 2 was first serviced with metros. The following stations also opened that year: Ribaucourt, Yser/IJzer,

Hôtel des Monnaies/Munthof metro station Hôtel des Monnaies (French) or Munthof (Dutch) is a Brussels Metro station on the southern segment of lines 2 and 6. It is located under the Small Ring (Brussels' inner ring road), near Saint Peter's Hospital, in the municipality of Saint- ...

, Porte de Hal/Hallepoort 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 ...

. The existing stations were converted in order to be serviced by metros. In 1993 the line was expanded to the Clemenceau metro station, and then to Delacroix in 2006. The route of line 2 is also currently served by line 6, which then continues from Simonis to

King Baudouin metro station King Baudouin (french: Roi Baudouin, nl, Koning Boudewijn) is a Brussels Metro station and the western terminus of line 6 (formerly 1A). It is located in Laeken, in the north-west of the City of Brussels, Belgium, and serves the King Baudoui ...

. The line crosses the municipalities of

Koekelberg Koekelberg (, ) is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the north-western part of the region, it is bordered by Berchem-Sainte-Agathe, Ganshoren, Jette and Molenbeek-Saint-Jean. In common with all ...

Molenbeek-Saint-Jean (French, ) or (Dutch, ), often simply called Molenbeek, is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the western part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels, from which it is separated b ...

, City of Brussels, Saint-Gilles and Anderlecht.

References

External links

STIB/MIVB official websiteBrussels metro and tram network map with date of entry into service of individual sections
{{Urban rail transport in Brussels 2 Anderlecht City of Brussels Koekelberg Saint-Gilles, Belgium Molenbeek-Saint-Jean