In 2023 the Brussels public transport company MIVB was forced to suspend metro service an average of more than once day due to people walking on the track. The number of so-called “track walking” incidents has doubled in the past 4 years. MIVB believes that the rise in the number of incidents is linked to an increase in the number of homeless people and drug addicts on the Brussels Metro network.
Home News
Metro services suspended at least once a day due to people walking on the track
Published:
Earlier this week track walkers caused the suspension of services on lines 2 and 6 for half an hour between the Elisabeth and Ribaucourt metro stations. MIVB said that the culprits were homeless people or drug users. MIVB’s spokeswoman An Van hamme told the Brussels regional news site Bruzz that "This is almost a daily occurrence”.
In 2018 metro services were suspended on 144 occasions because someone was on the track. Last year this had increased to 384 incidents.
Track walkers face two big dangers. First of all there is the risk of being hit by a train and secondly they could be electrocuted. Track walking incident usually result in services being suspended for between 15 and 20 minutes.
Accidents, fires and objects on the track
Metro services are also sometimes suspended for other reasons. These include accidents involving injury to persons, small fires, items that have fallen onto the track and need to be retrieved and people having pulled the emergency break.
MIVB says that there is a clear link between the increase in the number of occasions on which services are having to be suspended and the increase in the number of drug addicts and homeless people on the Brussels Metro.
Between January and October 2022 there were 1,200 reports of drug use in the metro. This was 70% on the same period in 2021. MIVB says that in 2023 the number of reports of drug use in the metro was 160% on 2022.