King Philippe driving new tram 9 in Brussels: « An example for the future »

The new Brussels tram line 9 linking was inaugurated on Saturday afternoon, in the presence of King Philippe and Minister-President of the Brussels Government, Rudi Vervoort. The tram line links he Simonis and Arbre Ballon stations in fifteen minutes, passing through UZ Brussel hospital.

After arriving at 15:00 in Simonis station, the King drove the tram which cut the ribbon with the colors of Belgium.

The first rails were laid in September 2015. The entire project cost € 76 million, financed by the Region and up to € 20 million by Beliris.

Ultimately, the line will be extended to King Baudouin station to serve the Heysel plateau. « Our tram network, which will soon be 150 years old, continues to expand and now has 18 tram lines, » said Brieuc de Meeûs, CEO of STIB. « The tram has always had a strong identity link with Brussels. »