Metro Station Arts-Loi - Brussels 🇧🇪 - Walkthrough 🚶

[@amiausUSA]

My first visit to Brussels was back in January 1997. At that time, the Prémétro line 3, now lines 3 and 4, the stations between Anneessens and Rogier were built as if someday the line 3 would be built to full métro standards similar to M1 and M2 - pretty much the low floor side platforms were meant for the tram and the central platform was a placeholder. On my next visit in November 2004, the same stations had the central platforms lowered for the trams to board and the existing low floor platforms were meant for alighting, and the full metro plan was put in doubt. Now that Toots Thielemans is under construction, lines 3 and 4 will eventually become the full metro lines that they were meant to be. I have not been to Brussels since November 2004. I stayed at the Jean Jaurès hostel near the Madou metro station. I remember that the fare gates were quite different, and only needed the insertion of a fare card that had a magnetic stripe. Riding from Madou to Arts-Loi / Kunst-Wet on the M2, when I boarded the train, I heard the beginning of a Britney Spears song, and when I alighted, the song was almost over. Also the train announcement said "Arts-Loi, correspondance Ligne 1, Kunst-Wet, aansluiting Lijn Één". The train at @1:58 is exactly as I remember from back then. The M2 platform is above the M1 platform at Arts-Loi / Kunst-Wet. Oddly the M1 ceiling seemed higher than that of the M2. Back then there was no M5 or M6 as they are now. The so-called M5 back in 2004 was just a Prémétro tunnel between Diamant and Boileau, operated by tram lines 7 and 25. Is there any known plan to upgrade that tunnel and have one of the lines join M5 after Boileau at Pétillon? What will happen to line 51? What will happen to lines that go from Lemmonier or Bara to Gare du Midi / Zuidstation, once Toots Thielemans is constructed?

[@MetroCheck]

Sorry, I can't answer your questions about the future plans for the lines in Brussels... Perhaps someone else can help out? You can still use paper tickets with magnetic stripes, and I think they can be scanned now on the same fare gates like the plastic cards, at least I didn't see any other type of ticket validator machines.

[@imaginox9]

@@MetroCheck The old paper tickets with magnetic stripes that you inserted in an orange validator were phased out in 2016, since then paper tickets with a disposable NFC chip inside took their place

[@imaginox9]

In 2004 there were no fare gates, they started to be installed a few years later though as fare evasion was at an all time high, but yes that's how the tickets were back then, the chip card system was introduced in 2008 and it took 8 years (mainly due to other transit agencies being very slow at adopting it) to entirely phase these magnetic tickets out. The tunnel used by trams 7 and 25 has no plans of being converted to metro due to its much lower ridership (while the trams are crowded, most people enter and exit at street-level stops, only Montgomery is busy as it has a transfer with the metro). However, it is being discussed to extend the tunnel one stop further North to Meiser place, known to be a headache with its multitude of traffic lanes and tram track switches criss-crossing each other. Lemmonier will remain a tram station for lines 51 and 82. An underpass has already been made to go to the future Toots Thielemans station (basically an old underpass from the original 1958 layout of the station that would go to an alternative exit, only the exit itself was closed, the underpass was blocked behind closed doors and will be repurposed. Speaking of those lines, a parallel "ghost station" exists at Gare du Midi, built for trams but never opened. I guess tram 51 will use it then go to the surface, or terminating at Gare du Midi and have its Southern part re-numbered. Also, tram 82 will remain unchanged as it only uses Lemmonier station before going back up to street level and serve the surface stop of Gare du Midi

[@MetroCheck]

@@imaginox9 Thanks for the explanation!

[@imaginox9]

Nice video, I like how you can see every single train model used on the system in your video: - the original Mx fleet, built between 1975 and 1991 in 4 series - the 5th Mx serie (M5) from 1999, which looks nearly identical to the others but has technical improvements (electric doors, computerised train, VF propulsion, probably IGBT-VVVF) - the CAF Boa (M6) trains from 2006 - the CAF M7 trains from last year, entering service in July 2021

[@MetroCheck]

Thank you! It was a happy coincidence, because I didn't wait for specific trains - I just went my way through the station and pointed my camera at every arriving train... 🙂

[@TheTransitChannel]

Schönes Video! Weiter So! Grüße von Berlin, Deutschland!

[@MetroCheck]

Danke!🙏 Ich filme gerade in 🚂Bukarest!

[@TheTransitChannel]

Super!

[@slemalmi9414]

Gutes Video 👍👍👍

[@MetroCheck]

🎈Danke! 🌟

[@publictransportofathens3376]

Nice Video!Well done,I need to tell you,if you want of course, that 2 yars ago the summer of 2020 3 stations have opened in line 3 in athens metro and this year summer another 3 station will open , so if you want , every timeyou want , you can visit and show them.

[@MetroCheck]

Thank you! I will come back if I find a cheap flight! My budget is not unlimited, so usually i try to visit cities where I can film many stations at once 🙂

[@tobeytransport2802]

Love the design of the station that allows you to cross the platform by using the platform of the other line... also makes line changing as simple as using one stairway or lift unlike the London tube where it requires many passageways because it was built by many different companies... the benefits of a modern metro I suppose, the only thing is the lines don’t have *as much* personality in Brussels, nonetheless I absolutely love Brussels as a city and a metro and all the amazing trams too! Love from Britain!

[@MetroCheck]

It's still an unusual way to cross the platform... I guess this is only used at stations where the platforms of the two lines are offset about 90 degrees from each other, and there is no mezzanine level. The station Unter den Linden in Berlin is another example! 🙂