The Brussels-Capital Region, MIVB / STIB and Brussels Mobility will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Brussels Metro with a week of exhibitions, cultural events, competitions and a behind-the-scenes open day, marking half a century since the capital’s first metro line entered service.
The anniversary coincides with Mobility Week and Brussels’ annual Car-Free Sunday on 20 September, exactly 50 years after Baudouin, King of the Belgians inaugurated the metro on 20 September 1976. Since then, the network has become one of the pillars of mobility in the capital of Belgium, carrying billions of passengers and connecting commuters, residents and visitors across the region.
According to MIVB / STIB, the metro has recorded around 4.7 billion journeys over the past five decades, including 140.1 million trips in 2025 alone. What began as a relatively modest network has grown into a system comprising four metro lines, 69 metro and premetro stations, around 100 works of art and a workforce of approximately 900 employees dedicated to keeping the network running, including more than 200 drivers.
“An excellent opportunity to look back on the history of a network that has become indispensable for mobility in Brussels and to discover behind the scenes how the metro is preparing for the decades to come,” MIVB / STIB said.
A week of metro celebrations
The celebrations will run from 14 to 20 September and form part of a broader programme linked to Mobility Week. Every day, passengers will be able to enjoy concerts, performances and cultural activities throughout the metro network.
Planned activities include a collaboration with the opera house De Munt / La Monnaie, street art projects organised with Brussels Urban Sessions, a concert by the MIVB / STIB choir Akoe’STIB, a network-wide quiz with prizes, and the distribution of commemorative gifts such as Dandoy speculoos biscuits, keyrings and collector cards.
The programme starts before the formal Mobility Week dates of 16 to 22 September, with daily activities beginning on Monday 14 September as part of the anniversary celebrations.
Exhibitions tell the story of the metro
A major focus of the anniversary programme is a series of exhibitions exploring the history and cultural significance of the metro.
An exhibition opened on 4 September in the Qartier cultural space at Beurs / Bourse metro station, bringing together archive documents, historical objects, photographs and video material charting the evolution of Brussels’ underground network. Visitors can also discover the winning entries of a design competition inviting artists and designers to imagine creative and alternative visions of the metro’s future.
At Kruidtuin / Botanique station, information panels trace the development and operation of the metro from its inauguration in 1976 to the present day.
Meanwhile, 18 stations across the network will host travelling exhibitions featuring photographs focused on themes including metro history, rolling stock, stations, depots and public art.
Exploring Brussels’ underground art
The celebrations will also highlight one of the metro’s most distinctive features: its extensive collection of public artworks.
As part of Brussels’ Heritage Days, Brussels Mobility will organise guided tours of artworks in metro stations on 19 and 20 September. The tours, which require advance registration, will depart from Maalbeek / Maelbeek station on Saturday and from Beurs / Bourse station on Sunday.
The metro has become an important exhibition space in its own right, with around 100 works of art spread throughout the network. The anniversary programme offers passengers an opportunity to discover some of these works and learn more about the role art has played in Brussels’ underground spaces.
Open doors at Jacques Brel depot
The centrepiece of the anniversary programme will take place on Sunday 20 September, when MIVB / STIB will exceptionally open the doors of its Jacques Brel depot in Anderlecht to the public.
The date coincides not only with the metro’s 50th birthday but also with Car-Free Sunday, when the Brussels-Capital Region becomes the largest car-free urban zone in Europe between 09:30 and 19:00 and public transport is traditionally free of charge.
From 10:00 to 16:00, visitors will be able to explore the operational side of Brussels public transport, meet employees responsible for running the network, discover the professions behind metro and bus operations, take a seat in a metro driver’s cab and learn about technologies being developed for the mobility systems of the future.
In cooperation with the Tram Museum, a historic vintage bus will also be displayed.
A double anniversary for Brussels public transport
The choice of the Jacques Brel depot is symbolic. Opened in 2007, the facility accommodates both metro trains and buses.
This year also marks the centenary of bus services in Brussels, allowing MIVB / STIB to celebrate two important milestones simultaneously.
The depot will therefore showcase both modes of transport and give visitors a glimpse into the infrastructure and staff required to keep the capital moving every day.
Car-Free Sunday becomes a mobility festival
The depot open day forms part of a wider Mobility Village on Paleizenplein / Place des Palais in central Brussels.
The event will feature a large metro-themed quiz celebrating 50 years of underground transport, bicycle repair facilities and numerous awareness-raising activities focused on road safety and sustainable mobility.
Car-Free Sunday will run from 09:30 to 19:00 across the Brussels-Capital Region. As in previous years, the event will transform the capital into a vast car-free zone, placing public transport, cycling and walking at the centre of the day.
Metro anniversary souvenirs
To commemorate the anniversary, MIVB / STIB has also launched a range of limited-edition merchandise bearing the 50th anniversary branding.
The collection includes commemorative MoBIB cards, mugs, socks, clothing and even a brick-built model metro train inspired by LEGO designs.
The operator is also encouraging passengers to collect a special series of 31 commemorative cards distributed by employees across the network. Hidden among the packs is a unique gold card that grants access to an exclusive competition.
Prizes include an authentic metro ‘M‘ sign, metro driving lessons and a one-year Brupass subscription.
From premetro to metro
The anniversary offers an opportunity to reflect on the remarkable evolution of Brussels’ underground network.
The origins of the system date back to the late 1960s, when Brussels began constructing underground tram tunnels as part of a premetro concept. The first premetro section between Schuman and De Brouckère opened in 1969, allowing trams to bypass growing road congestion in the city centre.
Seven years later, on 20 September 1976, the first true metro services began operating from De Brouckère towards Beaulieu in the south-east and Tomberg in the north-east.
The network initially relied on 45 two-car trainsets built by Belgian manufacturers ACEC, CFC and BN.
Rapid expansion in the 1980s
Expansion followed rapidly. The line reached Demey in 1977 and extended westwards to Sint-Katelijne / Sainte-Catherine.
Further extensions during the 1980s connected Beekkant, Sint-Guido / Saint-Guidon, Bockstael, Heizel / Heysel, Herrmann-Debroux, Veeweide / Veeweyde and Stokkel / Stockel with the growing network.
The opening of the first section of Line 2 in 1988 created a major orbital route through the city, fundamentally changing the way passengers could travel across Brussels without passing through the city centre.
The network reaches its current shape
Subsequent extensions continued through the 1990s and 2000s, including links to Bizet, Clemenceau, Koning Boudewijn / Roi Baudouin, Erasmus / Erasme and Delacroix.
The most recent extension, between Delacroix and Beekkant, entered service in 2009.
Today, the Brussels Metro consists of Lines 1, 2, 5 and 6. Together with the premetro sections, the system serves 69 stations and forms the backbone of the capital’s public transport network.
Around 900 employees work specifically on metro operations, including more than 200 drivers.
From 45 trains to billions of journeys
The scale of the transformation is reflected in the number of passengers carried over the past half century.
The first metro services in 1976 operated with just 45 two-car trainsets. Fifty years later, the network has carried approximately 4.7 billion passenger journeys, with 140.1 million metro journeys recorded in 2025 alone.
The network has also expanded geographically from the two initial branches towards Beaulieu and Tomberg into four metro lines serving large parts of the Brussels-Capital Region.
The system is closely integrated with the city’s tram, bus and suburban rail networks, while several stations provide major interchanges with the national railway network. Key interchange points include Centraal Station / Gare Centrale, Noordstation / Gare du Nord and Zuidstation / Gare du Midi.
A network that became part of Brussels’ identity
The Brussels Metro has grown into more than a transport system. Its stations have become part of the city’s architectural and cultural landscape, with around 100 works of art installed throughout the network.
Some station names have also become synonymous with Brussels neighbourhoods and landmarks, from Kunst-Wet / Arts-Loi and Schuman in the European Quarter to Heizel / Heysel and Koning Boudewijn / Roi Baudouin in the north, and Sint-Gillisvoorplein / Parvis de Saint-Gilles and Albert in the south.
The bilingual character of the network is reflected in its signage and station names, which provide Dutch and French names throughout the Brussels-Capital Region.
Looking back, and towards the future
The 50th anniversary programme is therefore intended as more than a historical retrospective.
By opening the Jacques Brel depot, showcasing new technologies and inviting visitors to explore the network’s art and history, MIVB / STIB and Brussels Mobility are also presenting a glimpse of how the metro is preparing for the decades ahead.
Half a century after King Baudouin inaugurated Brussels’ first metro services, the network remains one of the capital’s most important pieces of infrastructure, and one of the most visible symbols of its shift towards public and sustainable transport.
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