Charleroi Metro - Lines and Operation

Lines and Operation

As of 2012, the network consists in a central loop running around the centre of Charleroi and comprising 8 stations, from which two branches radiate towards suburban areas:

• A 14 km (8.7 mi) branch with 10 stations and 6 tram stops runs west to Anderlues. This branch runs on the street as a normal tram after Pétria station, following a line of the old Vicinal network.
• A 4 km (2.5 mi) branch with 6 stations runs northeast to Gilly.

In addition, two other branches are currently inactive:

• A 7.5 km (4.7 mi) branch which is actually a conventional tram line running in the middle of the street, running north towards Gosselies and equipped with 18 tram stops, is currently under construction and should open in 2013.
• A branch running east towards Châtelet was built during the 1980s. A first section comprising 4 stations was completed but never entered service, while further sections are in various stages of completion.

The network allows transfers to the national railway network at the main Charleroi-Sud railway station as well as at the secondary Charleroi-Ouest station.

The completion and opening of the central loop in 2012 led to a significant reorganization of the tram lines using the system. The five tram lines (54, 55, 84, 88, 89) that operated on the network were replaced on February 27th 2012 by three new lines (M1, M2 and M4), with a fourth line (M3) scheduled to open in 2013.

Line numbers are used alone on maps and station signage, while the prefix "M" is added on timetables and on destination indicators of trams, to avoid confusion with similarly numbered bus lines.

The system is run by TEC Charleroi, a subsidiary of the Walloon public transport operator (Société Régionale Wallonne du Transport). Intervals between trains depend on the period (weekdays/weekends, holidays, ...). The standard interval is 30 minutes for lines M1 and M2, ensuring a 15 minutes interval on the common Charleroi - Pétria section. This interval becomes 60 minutes (30 minutes on the common section) on week-ends and holidays, and during the July-August period. On line M4, the standard interval is 10 minutes (15 minutes on Sundays and public holidays).

Station entrances are marked with a stylized white "M" on a blue background, identical to the symbol used by the Brussels metro. Access to the platforms is unrestricted (no gates/barriers) and most stations are not staffed. Some stations are equipped with automatic ticket vending machines, otherwise tickets are sold by machines inside the trams (tickets used to be sold directly by the tram driver until 2012). As from 2012, all trams have been equipped with orange colored LED destination indicators, displaying the line number and final station. Prior to that, mechanical destination indicators were used, using various layouts. The most common display showed two distinctly colored rectangles indicating the most important stations of the line, with the line number displayed on a white square between both rectangles. Rectangle color used the following code:

• Pale yellow : used on lines originating/terminating in Anderlues.
• Bright yellow : used on lines originating/terminating at Gilly.
• Dark blue : used on lines originating/terminating at Sud.
• Dark green : used on lines originating/terminating at Parc.

Beside this system, it happened that trams only displayed the terminus station as one of Charleroi-Sud (dark blue background) or Parc (green), without line number. Line 84 used a completely different display with black characters on a full white background and line number on the right.

Trams drive on the right track, except on the Soleilmont branch and the not operated Châtelet branch. Some small sections on the street in Anderlues (and in Gosselies on the future Gosselies branch) are single track. Theoretical maximum speed on the network is 65 km/h (40 mph), but actual speed is generally lower, especially in curves. Speed limits are displayed on panels along the track and can take one of the following values : 10, 17, 25, 35, 45, 55 and 65 km/h. An onboard system warns the driver in case of overspeed, and will stop the tram abruptly in absence of reaction. A similar system will stop the tram immediately in the event of a red signal being ignored. Rail switches are controlled directly by tram drivers using a remote control unit sending a signal to a receiver along the track.