Line 2 is a

rapid transit Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT) or heavy rail, commonly referred to as metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport that is generally built in urban areas. A grade separation, grade separated rapid transit line below ground su ...

line on the

Brussels Metro The Brussels Metro ( ; ) is a rapid transit system serving a large part of the Brussels-Capital Region of Belgium. It consists of four conventional metro lines and three '' premetro'' lines. The metro-grade lines are M1, M2, M5, and M6 wi ...

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

operated by

STIB/MIVB The Brussels Intercommunal Transport Company ( or ; or ) is the local public transport operator in Brussels, Belgium. It is usually referred to in English by the double acronym STIB/MIVB, or by its French acronym, STIB. STIB/MIVB is responsi ...

. It has existed in its current form since 4 April 2009, when the section between Delacroix and Gare de l'Ouest/Weststation was opened, which allowed to close the "loop" from and to Simonis/Elisabeth. The configuration of Simonis/Elisabeth though does not allow trains on line 2 to perform the loop several consecutive times in the same direction, i.e. a train running clockwise from Elisabeth will have to run counterclockwise from Simonis. The two termini of line 2 have thus received different names: originally ''Simonis (Elisabeth)'' and ''Simonis (Leopold II)'', changed in November 2013 to ''Elisabeth'' and ''Simonis''. Between Yser/IJzer and the Porte de Hal/Hallepoort, the line runs under the

Small Ring The Small Ring (, ; , ) inner ring road, formally R20 and N0, is a series of roadways in central Brussels, Belgium, surrounding the historic city centre. The city centre is usually defined as the area within the Small Ring; this area is call ...

(Brussels' inner ring road), which was itself built on the site of the former

second walls of Brussels The Fortifications of Brussels (; ) refers to the medieval city walls that surrounded Brussels, Belgium, built primarily to defend the city but also for administrative reasons. There were two stages of fortifications of Brussels: the first wall ...

. The line crosses the municipalities of

Koekelberg Koekelberg (; ) is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the north-western part of the region, it is bordered by Berchem-Sainte-Agathe, Ganshoren, Jette, and Molenbeek-Saint-Jean. In common with al ...

Molenbeek-Saint-Jean (French language, French, ) or (Dutch language, Dutch, ), often simply called Molenbeek, is one of the List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the western p ...

City of Brussels The City of Brussels is the largest List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, municipality and historical City centre, centre of the Brussels, Brussels-Capital Region, as well as the capital of the French Community of Belgium, the ...

, Saint-Gilles and

Anderlecht Anderlecht (; ) is one of the List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the south-western part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels, Forest, B ...

. The first stations on the Small Ring were opened in 1970 with tramways connecting Rogier to Porte de Namur/Naamsepoort. Louise/Louiza was opened in 1985 and Simonis in 1986, but it was only in 1988 that the actual metro line 2 was first serviced with metros. The following stations also opened that year: Ribaucourt, Yser, Hôtel des Monnaies/Munthof, Porte de Hal and Gare du Midi/Zuidstation. The existing stations were converted in order to be serviced by metros. In 1993, the line was expanded to Clemenceau, and then to Delacroix in 2006. The route of line 2 is also currently served by line 6, which then continues from Simonis to Roi Baudouin/Koning Boudewijn.

References

External links

STIB/MIVB official website

Brussels metro and tram network map with date of entry into service of individual sections
{{Authority control 2 Anderlecht City of Brussels Koekelberg Saint-Gilles, Belgium Molenbeek-Saint-Jean 900 V DC railway electrification