A high-performing company | STIB - Activity report 2019

Developing infrastructures

Passenger numbers continue to grow. The city is evolving and travel habits are changing with it. This means that STIB must constantly adapt its transport offering. In 2019, STIB invested almost €394 million in developing its network. And it will not stop there. On 4 April 2019, a new public service contract was signed, binding STIB and the Brussels Region for the period 2019-2023. This contract aims to further increase public transport use and induce a modal shift by offering alternatives to private cars. The aim is to achieve 450 million journeys by 2023, or even 475 million if voluntary support measures are put in place.To enable STIB to take up this challenge and continue building the network of tomorrow - denser, more efficient and even more accessible - the Government of the Brussels-Capital Region has planned to earmark €6.6 billion between 2019 and 2028 for the development of public transport in Brussels: new tram lines, an extension of the metro, the purchase of additional vehicles, construction of depots, etc.

The Bus Masterplan is taking shape

The Bus Masterplan provides for the overhaul of almost two thirds of STIB's bus lines. The aim of this major overhaul of the bus network, the largest in 30 years, is to increase the number of available seats by 30%. In addition to purchasing new vehicles, the plan provides for the creation of new routes and better coverage of underserved or poorly served neighbourhoods.In 2019, the plan was implemented in successive phases, starting with the commissioning of the new line 37 in early May. This was the second of 6 new lines in this context, following the creation of line 33 in 2018. Line 37 connects Albert Station to Linkebeek Station. It is 10 km long and has 23 stops. It offers a new link between the south of the municipality of Uccle, its centre and the Albert pre-metro station in Forest. The line passes through important centres including Place Saint-Job, the Square du Héros and several large schools. It is partially operated with standard electric and hybrid buses.

Two new milestones in the Bus Plan

On Saturday 31 August, as a prelude to the start of the new school year, a new milestone in the Bus Masterplan was achieved. Five bus lines, located in the north-east of the city, were reorganised: lines 21, 45, 64, 65 and 80 had their routes changed. In addition, service frequency was increased on line 12 and line 46 was extended.At the beginning of November, seven bus lines (13, 14, 20, 49, 53, 83/84 and 88) in the north-western part of the city were redesigned.Separately from the implementation of the Bus Masterplan, changes were also made to lines 48 and 86, which have resumed the route they followed before the pedestrianisation of the city centre.The implementation of the Bus Masterplan continues in 2020 and will run until 2022.

Informing passengers on the ground

To accompany customers during the various stages of the implementation of the Bus Masterplan, also administrative STIB staff have mobilised to inform passengers and support fellow drivers on the ground.Accompanying staff - multimodal agents, bus attendants, administrative staff - were present at strategic stops, as well as on board the vehicles on the sections of line affected by the changes.The website, the mobile app and social networks also provided all the information necessary to allow travellers to organise their journeys in the best possible way. Appropriate signage was rolled out.

The extension of tram 9 under construction

Since September 2018, the new tram line 9 has connected the Simonis metro station to the Arbre Ballon terminus via the UZ-Brussel hospital. But it doesn't plan to stop there. Since February 2019, work to extend the line to the Heysel plateau has been in full swing.The project, led by Brussels Mobility, proposes a complete redevelopment of the public space along the route of the line, from Arbre Ballon to Roi Baudouin station, via the Cité Modèle: dedicated integration for the tram, improved safety at the various crossroads and improved pedestrian and cycle paths. The works also aim to intensify the green character of the criss-crossing avenues. Commissioning is scheduled for 2021.In the longer term, a multimodal hub will be created jointly with lines 3 and 7 on the Heysel plateau. This will facilitate connections between the three lines, creating a real bypass in the north of the city.[ https://mobilite-mobiliteit.brussels/fr/tram9 ]

Something new for metro line 3

In May, STIB's Board of Directors appointed the company in charge of the work on the Constitution project, in the context of the creation of the new metro line 3. The joint venture 'Toots', led by Besix in partnership with Jan De Nul and Franki Construct, will build the future metro station "Toots Thielemans", as well as a new tunnel section, renovate the Lemonnier station and adapt the exit at the Boulevard du Midi tram tunnel.The creation of the new line will allow STIB to meet the ever-growing need for public transport in the north of the region and offer greater capacity on the north-south line, which has reached saturation point. To this end, the current North-South pre-metro axis will be converted into a metro. In a second phase, the tunnel will be extended for more than 4 km beyond the Gare du Nord station to Bordet. Seven new metro stations will be created.[ Support during works ]

The East-West axis is modernised

So that it can continue to carry the constant influx of passengers, whilst guaranteeing the security of the transport system, STIB launched an ambitious programme to modernise the metro. In 2019, preparatory work for the installation of the new safety signalling continued on the East-West axis (lines 1 - 5), which was put into service more than 40 years ago. This new signalling, coupled with the delivery of new M7 metro trains, will make it possible to increase service frequency. The commissioning of the new signalling on the first test section of lines 1 and 5 is scheduled for 2020.When service frequency falls from 2 mins 30 to 2 minutes at peak times on the entire East-West axis in 2023, 7,000 additional seats per hour will be created. The service frequency on lines 2 - 6 will go from 3 to 2 minutes 30, starting in 2021. This equates to 4,000 extra seats per hour.

Network maintenance

STIB is investing not only in work to extend and improve its transport services, but also in maintaining its existing infrastructures. There were several worksites to update tram lines in 2019. These are essential to ensure that the network remains safe. Current laying techniques - rubber coated rails laid on floating slab - also improve comfort for local residents when the trams pass through. These works are also an opportunity to enhance the surrounding public spaces through a complete redevelopment of the area.[ Environmental commitment ]

Track replacement

The programme to renew tram tracks continued into 2019. In total, STIB renewed 10.42 km of track. Major projects were carried out in Avenue Brugmann and Place Saint-Lambert in Laeken. The renewal of the tram tracks in Rue Lesbroussart and Square Marie-José in Ixelles was accompanied by work to upgrade the surrounding public spaces and improve accessibility.This is a significant evolution for STIB projects, which go hand in hand with increasingly significant interventions in the public space. They demonstrate STIB's desire to contribute to improving the quality of life in Brussels, thereby aligning its activities with the visions of the Region and the 19 municipalities in this area.

More fluid public transport

In 2019, STIB and the Region joined forces to further improve the fluidity of public transport. Apart from continuing the programme for the installation of remote control of traffic lights by Brussels Mobility, the year was marked by the completion of new bus lanes.In the city centre, revamps were implemented on the entire Anderlecht-Van Artevelde-Laeken axis, through the Pentagone. And a bus lane was re-established in Rue Assaut and Rue Fossé aux Loups up to Place De Brouckère. The partial commissioning of a brand new dedicated site for bus 71 on Boulevard du Régent and the development of the Chaussée d'Ixelles in the form of a semi-pedestrian walkway complete the works realised.

More and cleaner buses

In 2019, STIB continued to replace and expand its fleet. The arrival of the 25 100% electric articulated buses, in addition to the 7 electric midibuses and 5 standard electric buses already in service, confirms STIB's desire to focus on innovative and more environmentally friendly technologies.In addition to these 37 buses running solely on electric power, in May STIB also put into service the first of the 141 articulated hybrid buses, which will be delivered in 2020. They will be added to the 110 standard hybrid buses already in operation.The gradual introduction of these different vehicles will enable STIB to meet the requirements of the low emission zone imposed by the Brussels Region, but also to extend its bus fleet in order to increase the capacity of the network in the context of the roll-out of the Bus Masterplan. At the end of 2019, the STIB fleet consisted of 800 buses.[ SAM-e ] [ Environmental commitment ]

90 trams "New Generation"

STIB's tram fleet also continues to expand. Following the first order for 60 trams “New Generation”, the STIB board of directors placed an order for an additional 30 trams with the company Bombardier. Delivery of the first of these 90 "TNG" trams is scheduled for end-2020 at the earliest. The arrival of these 90 new trams, combined with the replacement of the oldest trams, will increase the total capacity of STIB's tram fleet by around 10,000 seats, i.e. a 15% increase in capacity, to the benefit of all passengers.At the beginning of May 2019, as part of the celebrations for the tram's 150th anniversary, the public had the opportunity to admire a life-size replica of the new tram, on display in Place Royale.

43 M7 metro trains under construction

In order to respond to the constantly growing passenger numbers and the future extension of the metro network to the north of the city (the future line 3), STIB ordered 43 new metro trains from the Spanish company CAF (Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles).The first 22 M7 trains are being built at the CAF factory in the Basque Country. They will be delivered on a staggered basis until 2022. The next 21 have already been ordered.

New depots are opening

With the arrival of new vehicles, STIB needs to adapt its storage and maintenance facilities and build new depots. On 31 August, the new Marly bus depot in Neder-over-Heembeek went into operation. This is STIB's fifth bus depot, but the first to be designed, from the outset, to meet the specific requirements of electric buses. A second phase of work is underway in and around the current depot. Its surface area will be further expanded and a new building will be constructed. The end of the project is scheduled for 2024.In Anderlecht, construction work on the new Erasmus underground depot continued. The depot is largely underground and covers an area of 30,000 m². Eventually, 23 metro trains will be stored there and 7 trains will be able to undergo maintenance at the same time. In September, an important milestone was reached with the laying of the first tracks. These tracks were installed in the part of the depot that will be connected to the Erasmus terminus. While at the other end of the depot, civil engineering and concreting activities continued.

STIB adapts its existing depots

In June, STIB inaugurated the new footbridge of the Delta depot, an important step in adapting the depot in the context of the metro modernisation programme. The Delta site will house the central systems for the new signalling, which will almost double the capacity of lines 1 and 5.At the Haren site, the Maintenance Center construction site entered its final phase in August. From 2020, this future maintenance workshop will bring together the historic workshops in Belgrade and Cureghem, as well as those in Birmingham and Petite Ile, in a single location. To allow staff to familiarise themselves with their new workplace, STIB organised a visit using virtual reality helmets at the end of 2019.Works to allow recharging of electric buses were also implemented at the Jacques Brel and Haren depots.

Grouping together the STIB dispatching centres

In 2019, STIB actively prepared the integration of its various dispatching centres into the Brussels Mobility Center, by grouping together the various components of its Field Support dispatching centre (previously dispersed over 3 sites: Rogier, Parc, Beekkant). The aim of this grouping was to improve communication but also working procedures.The Brussels Mobility Center is intended to gradually bring together, as of 2020, the 6 dispatching centres of the STIB (bus, tram, metro, Energy, Field Support and IT) and Mobiris (the traffic and infrastructure control centre of Brussels Mobility), in a common building, located in the heart of Brussels. Renovation work on the building was carried out from April 2019.The STIB and Mobiris dispatching centres already work together on a regular basis on small and large events and incidents that have an impact on mobility in the capital. Bringing them together in one location will improve communication and operational collaboration between the different teams.

Station renovations

After 22 months of work, the Bourse station was inaugurated in February. The focus is on accessibility, safety, lighting and cleanliness. The new Bourse station, renamed Bourse - Grand-Place, puts the spotlight on cycling: on level -1 of the station, cyclists can take advantage of the services of a new bike point/workshop, a bike-wash and an 800-space bike park. A similar bike park has also been available since March in the De Brouckère station, which is also being renovated. The Bourse station also has an artistic space, called QARTIER, which offers young Brussels artists the opportunity to exhibit their work. The renovation also made it possible to restore the works of art by Pol Bury and Paul Delvaux, which are now brought to life thanks to a dedicated and original lighting system. Portraits of cyclists, a mosaic on the ground and a wall fresco complete the artistic dimension of the station. The station renovation programme will continue in 2020 with the completion of the renovation work on the metro part of De Brouckère and the launch of the renovation work on Central Station and Parc stations, both of which will be made accessible to persons with reduced mobility. At Parc, a second exit will be created, while at Central Station, the capacity of the station will be increased, as well as the fluidity of circulation at the platforms. Work to improve accessibility also continued at Porte de Hal, Madou, Roodebeek, Clemenceau and Simonis stations.

Règles d’Or for STIB

In 2019, the renovation of the Bourse station was rewarded twice. It won the visit.brussels Award in the category "Public initiative 2018". This award recognises the best Brussels initiatives in the field of tourism. The jury was won over by its innovative and urban renovation, its bike park, its bike repair workshop and its "Qartier" cultural diversity presentation area.The renovation of Bourse station was also highlighted by the Fédération Bruxelloise de l'Urbanisme (Brussels Town Planning Federation), which awarded STIB a 'Règle d’Or' for urban planning. Two other projects on which STIB had worked were rewarded on this occasion: the extension of tram line 8 and the new Marconi tram depot. The 'Règles d’Or' reward outstanding and innovative projects in the field of urban planning, redevelopment of public spaces, green spaces and renovation that have a positive impact on Brussels and its development.

The commercial offering in stations

9 new shops opened their doors in the Brussels metro in 2019. There are now 6,235 m² of commercial space, split into 71 shops. In terms of employment, these shops employ around 350 FTEs.The shops offer a varied range of products such as a bakery, minimarket, fish bars, juice bars and cafes, card shops and female accessories.STIB plans to offer passengers a wide range of relevant services as they travel through its infrastructures. That is why STIB is continuing to commercialise the spaces available in its metro stations.

Financial resources

Revenue

Expenditure

Investments