THE public transport operator in the Flanders region of Belgium, De Lijn, has begun a major programme to renovate tunnels carrying light rail lines beneath the centre of Antwerp and underneath the River Scheldt, involving an 11-month total closure. De Lijn has declined to reveal the cost of the programme.
Work began on May 4 to renovate the oldest pre-metro tunnels under the city centre, dating from 1975, and involving the section from Diamant station to Opera, Meir and Groenplaats. At the same time, the tunnel under the Scheldt between Groenplaats and Van Eeden, completed in 1990, is closed.
All track and railway systems will be removed to enable structural repairs and the removal of asbestos. Slab track will be installed in place of ballasted track and the entire overhead electrification system will be replaced. Fire detection and suppression systems, ventilation, lighting, and drainage will also be improved in line with current legal requirements. Reopening is scheduled for March 2027.
The four light rail lines that usually use the cross-river tunnel to serve the left bank of the Scheldt are temporarily operating as two lines confined to the right bank, with the surface Line 11 in the city centre resuming after an absence of three years.
In addition, Antwerp Linkeroever station on the left bank has been reopened on a temporary basis. The station located on the line from Antwerp to Gent closed in 1984 and is now served by Belgian National Railways (SNCB) trains twice an hour on weekdays, and hourly at weekends and during the school holidays.
