Tram systems in Antwerp
Antwerp is located on the River Scheldt in northern Belgium and is the capital of Antwerp Province. The municipality is the most populous in Belgium, while its wider urban region is one of the country's principal centres of population and economic activity.
The Port of Antwerp-Bruges is one of Europe's largest seaports and has played a central role in the city's development. Antwerp is also an important centre for the international diamond trade, fashion and the arts. The city was home to the painter Peter Paul Rubens, whose work is represented in its churches and museums, while important landmarks include the Cathedral of Our Lady, the Grote Markt, Het Steen and the Museum aan de Stroom.
Antwerpen-Centraal is the city's principal railway station and is served by domestic intercity, regional and suburban trains as well as international services. Other important stations include Antwerpen-Berchem, Antwerpen-Zuid, Antwerpen-Luchtbal and Antwerpen-Noorderdokken. The Antwerp S-train network provides local rail connections across the surrounding region.
Most urban and regional bus and tram services are operated by the Flemish public transport undertaking De Lijn. Waterbus services operate along the Scheldt, while pedestrian and cycle tunnels and ferry services provide additional connections between the city centre and Linkeroever.
Park-and-ride sites have been developed around the edge of the urban area, several of which are connected with central Antwerp by tram. These include facilities at Luchtbal, Merksem, Wommelgem, Wijnegem, Boechout, Olympiade, Schoonselhof and Melsele.
Antwerp has an extensive metre-gauge tram network operated by De Lijn. Its routes serve the city centre and seven of Antwerp's ten districts, with extensions into the neighbouring municipalities of Boechout, Mortsel, Wijnegem, Wommelgem and the area around Zwijndrecht and Melsele.
The permanent network is organised as 14 numbered routes: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 15 and 24. Eight of these normally use parts of the premetro, a network of tunnels beneath the centre through which conventional trams continue onto surface routes in the outer districts.
Major reconstruction work has temporarily changed this arrangement. Since 4 May 2026, the western premetro between the central junction near Opera and Linkeroever has been closed. Routes 3, 5, 9 and 15 have been suspended and replaced on the eastern side of the network by temporary tram routes A3 and A9. Replacement bus P5 provides a connection between Opera and Linkeroever through the Kennedytunnel.
There are consequently twelve tram services operating during the present arrangements: routes 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12 and 24, together with temporary routes A3 and A9. Several of these are also shortened or diverted because of other infrastructure projects.
The fleet is formed principally of Siemens/Bombardier HermeLijn trams, Bombardier Flexity 2 vehicles known as Albatros trams, and CAF Urbos 100 vehicles carrying the Stadslijner name. The Stadslijners include both single-ended and double-ended cars, allowing services to operate during engineering work where a turning loop is unavailable. The last PCC trams were withdrawn from regular passenger service in April 2026.
Antwerp's first horse-drawn tramway opened on 25 May 1873 between the Meirbrug in the city centre and the church at Berchem. It was one of three horse tram routes established in the city during that year.
The network expanded rapidly as Antwerp grew beyond its former fortifications. By 1882, nine horse tram routes and a horse-drawn omnibus service were operating. Eight different companies ran the tramways, resulting in a collection of separate undertakings rather than a unified city network.
The urban tramways were supplemented by routes operated by the National Company of Light Railways, normally known by its French and Dutch abbreviations SNCV and NMVB. These vicinal tramways extended from Antwerp into surrounding towns and rural areas and included services towards places such as Brasschaat, Schoten, Turnhout and the Waasland region.
The separate horse tram undertakings were taken over by the Compagnie Générale des Tramways d'Anvers in January 1900. The new company sought to standardise and modernise the system and received permission to electrify it in March 1902.
Regular electric operation began on 2 September 1902. Horse and electric cars initially worked alongside one another while the remaining routes were converted. The network was also rebuilt to a common metre gauge, establishing the basic technical standard that remains in use.
New routes accompanied electrification, and line numbers were introduced to make the expanding system easier to understand. Coloured destination boards continued to help passengers identify individual services. By the period before the First World War, electric trams had become the principal form of public transport within Antwerp.
Further development continued between the world wars. Tracks were extended into growing residential and industrial districts, while through services were created by joining routes that had previously terminated in the centre. The urban and vicinal systems together formed a dense network extending well beyond the municipal boundary.
Although the tramway survived the Second World War, growing car ownership and the increasing use of buses changed transport policy during the post-war period. Several tram routes were withdrawn during the 1950s and 1960s, and tracks disappeared from a number of streets.
The surviving system was modernised with PCC trams, the first of which entered service in 1960. These vehicles gradually replaced the remaining pre-war cars and became the characteristic Antwerp tram for more than half a century.
The Maatschappij voor het Intercommunaal Vervoer te Antwerpen, better known as MIVA, took responsibility for Antwerp's municipal public transport in 1963. It inherited a tram network approximately 52 kilometres long with twelve routes, together with a bus system of a similar size.
MIVA continued replacing some surface tramways with buses but also began developing a more ambitious plan in which the principal surviving tram corridors would be placed underground.
Construction of the premetro began on 5 January 1970. The planned system comprised approximately 15 kilometres of tunnel and 22 stations arranged around intersecting east-west and north-south routes beneath central Antwerp.
The tunnels and stations were designed with the possibility of later conversion into a conventional metro. In the meantime, existing metre-gauge trams would use the underground sections before continuing over surface tracks in the outer districts.
The first section opened on 25 March 1975 between Groenplaats and Opera, with an intermediate station at Meir. It was extended southeast from Diamant to Plantin on 10 March 1980.
Financial constraints prevented the original plan from being completed. Construction stopped on several partially built tunnels and stations during the 1980s, leaving parts of the underground network unused. Plans to replace the trams with a separate metro were ultimately abandoned, and the premetro became a permanent component of the tram system rather than an interim stage.
The western premetro was extended beneath the Scheldt to Van Eeden station on Linkeroever on 21 September 1990. This allowed tram services to connect the city centre directly with the growing districts on the left bank and later with Zwijndrecht and Melsele.
In 1991, MIVA was incorporated into De Lijn, the new public transport undertaking responsible for bus and tram services throughout Flanders.
Another major premetro expansion followed on 1 April 1996, when the northern tunnel opened from Astrid through Elisabeth, Handel, Schijnpoort and Sport. Route 3 initially used the new infrastructure, with additional routes subsequently added.
Surface extensions accompanied the underground development. In 2002, route 3 was extended west from Linkeroever through Zwijndrecht to a new park-and-ride terminus at Melsele and north from Merksem to Keizershoek. Route 5 was introduced between Deurne and Linkeroever in March 2006, while route 6 began operating through the premetro in October 2007.
Construction of the eastern premetro beneath Borgerhout and Deurne had begun during the 1970s but was suspended before the route could open. The completed but unused tunnels became popularly known as the Reuzenpijp, or Giant Pipe.
Work eventually resumed under the LIVAN project. The eastern tunnel opened on 18 April 2015, initially carrying route 8 between Astrid and a new park-and-ride terminus at Wommelgem. Of the stations constructed along the route, only Astrid and Zegel were opened to passengers, allowing trams to cover the underground section particularly quickly.
Route 10 began using the Reuzenpijp in 2017. A new connection from the tunnel to the central boulevards allowed it to continue south towards Schoonselhof.
The Noorderlijn project created new tram infrastructure along the northern Leien and towards the Eilandje and Luchtbal districts. New sections opened progressively from 2017, and the rebuilt Opera station reopened as an interchange between the two principal premetro axes in December 2019.
Other extensions during this period included the continuation of routes 5 and 10 to Wijnegem in 2012 and the development of new park-and-ride termini. These projects transformed parts of the network into longer cross-city routes linking outer districts through the premetro.
Low-floor HermeLijn trams began entering service in Antwerp in 1999, providing the first major alternative to the PCC fleet. They were followed between 2015 and 2018 by 62 Bombardier Flexity 2 trams, known locally as Albatros vehicles. Both five-section and higher-capacity seven-section versions were obtained.
A further fleet-renewal programme introduced the CAF Urbos 100 Stadslijner. The first vehicles entered passenger service in January 2023 as part of an order for 58 trams. Forty were constructed as single-ended vehicles and 18 as double-ended cars, the latter providing greater flexibility during closures and reconstruction projects.
The new trams allowed the remaining PCC vehicles to be progressively withdrawn. Regular PCC operation ended on 30 April 2026, concluding almost 66 years of service by the type in Antwerp.
The western premetro closed on 4 May 2026 for comprehensive reconstruction. The affected section runs from the central underground junction near Opera through Meir, Groenplaats and Van Eeden, including the Brabotunnel beneath the Scheldt and the tram infrastructure on Linkeroever.
The project includes renewal of tracks, ballast, overhead wiring, signalling and other technical equipment. Asbestos must also be removed from parts of the infrastructure, while stations and tunnel installations are being brought up to modern safety and operating standards.
No trams can operate between the left and right banks while the work is underway. Routes 3, 5, 9 and 15 have therefore been replaced by temporary routes A3 and A9 on the eastern side of the network, while bus P5 connects Opera with Linkeroever through the Kennedytunnel.
The reconstructed premetro is expected to reopen at the end of March 2027, subject to the progress of the work. The normal routes can then be restored across the Scheldt. Further information is available from Smart Ways to Antwerp.
Four stations constructed in outline form during the original premetro programme are being developed for passenger use. Drink and Morckhoven are situated on the operational Reuzenpijp beneath Borgerhout and Deurne, while Willibrordus and Stuivenberg are located on an adjoining tunnel beneath Kerkstraat and Pothoekstraat that has never carried regular passenger services.
Opening Drink and Morckhoven will provide intermediate stops on the presently fast but widely spaced route between Astrid, Zegel and the eastern tunnel portal. Both stations require completion of their platforms, entrances, vertical circulation, safety systems and passenger facilities.
The separate northern tunnel will be equipped with tracks, overhead wiring, signalling and other operating systems before services can begin through Willibrordus and Stuivenberg. Its opening will create an additional underground connection between the Astrid area and the northern premetro near Schijnpoort.
The current programme envisages opening Drink during autumn 2027, followed by Willibrordus and Stuivenberg during spring 2028 and Morckhoven during autumn 2028. These dates have already moved beyond earlier targets and remain dependent upon construction and commissioning.
Carnot, Collegelaan and Foorplein are among the other stations built as part of the original premetro scheme, but they are not included in the present opening programme.
Routes 2 and 4 have been unable to serve central Hoboken because of the deteriorated condition of the tram tracks along Antwerpsesteenweg. Route 2 has terminated at Zwaantjes since June 2022, and route 4 was similarly shortened in July 2023. A replacement bus operates between Zwaantjes and Lelieplaats.
Comprehensive reconstruction of Antwerpsesteenweg began in May 2026. The project covers the full corridor between Krugerstraat and Kioskplaats and includes new tram tracks, drainage and sewer infrastructure, reconstructed roads, improved cycle facilities and redesigned public space.
The work is being undertaken in phases to retain access to homes and businesses and is expected to continue through 2027. Completion should allow trams to return between Zwaantjes and central Hoboken, although the precise service pattern and reinstatement date have not yet been confirmed. Further information is available from the City of Antwerp.
The western tunnel is the first part of a wider programme intended to renew Antwerp's ageing underground tram infrastructure. The section between Diamant and Plantin is also expected to require major reconstruction, provisionally around 2028 and 2029.
As with the present western works, renewal is likely to involve replacement of the track system and modernisation of technical and safety installations. Temporary changes to routes using the southern premetro branch will be required, although a detailed operating plan and confirmed construction timetable have not yet been published.
The rebuilding of Groenplaats and its underground station forms part of a separate redevelopment of the square and surrounding streets. Coordination will be required between the public-space project, premetro infrastructure, underground parking and passenger facilities.
Routeplan 2030 sets out a longer-term mobility strategy for the Antwerp transport region. It envisages a higher-capacity core public transport network in which the principal tram services would be divided into M routes using the premetro and T routes operating mainly at street level.
Earlier versions proposed substantial renumbering and reorganisation of the tram network, together with higher frequencies and improved interchange. Implementation was deferred because sufficient new trams and supporting infrastructure were not yet available.
Potential tram extensions have also been studied towards districts and municipalities not presently connected to the network, including Wilrijk and areas farther south of Antwerp. These remain longer-term proposals rather than committed construction projects.
For the immediate future, investment is concentrated on restoring existing infrastructure, completing long-unused premetro assets and returning shortened routes to their proper termini. A wider reorganisation or physical expansion of the network is unlikely to proceed until these projects and the associated fleet requirements have been addressed.