Brussels tram route 51

The tram route 51 in Brussels, Belgium is a tram route operated by the STIB/MIVB, which connects the Heysel metro station in the City of Brussels to the Van Haelen stop in the municipality of Uccle.[1] The route runs North-South, crossing the municipalities of the City of Brussels, Jette, Molenbeek-Saint-Jean, the City of Brussels again, Saint-Gilles, Forest and Uccle. Currently, service is interrupted between Gare du Midi/Zuidstation and Altitude Cent/Hoogt Hondred due to construction work at Albert station.[2]

STIB/MIVB Route 51
Heysel/Heizel – Van Haelen
PCC 7903 at Silence
Overview
System	Brussels tramway network
Operator	STIB/MIVB
Depot	Saint-Gilles, Molenbeek-Saint-Jean
Vehicle	PCC 7700/7800 PCC 7900
Status	Operational
Began service	30 June 2008 (2008-06-30)
Route
Locale	Brussels, Belgium
Communities served	City of Brussels Jette Molenbeek-Saint-Jean Saint-Gilles Forest Uccle
Start	Stade / Stadion
Via	North–South Axis
End	Van Haelen
Length	15 km (9.3 mi)
Service
Journey time	60 minutes
Route map ← Route 44  {{{system_nav}}}  Route 55 →

Starting from the Stade/Stadion tram stop the route runs along the tram route 23 on a proper route parallel to the Boulevard du Centenaire/Eeuwfeestlaan up to the Centenaire/Eeuwfeest stop. At this point the route 23 turns left and the route 51 turns right, joining the tram route 19 on the Avenue Jean Sobieski/Jan Sobieskilaan. The route then follows the Boulevard de Smet de Naeyer/De Smet de Naeyerlaan, connecting with the Brussels Metro again at the Stuyvenbergh metro station. Past the Jette cemetery, the routes 19 and 51 separate, with the route 51 heading towards the Belgica metro station via the Avenue Charles Woeste/Charles Woestelaan, and then toward the Ribaucourt metro station via the Boulevard Belgica/Belgicalaan and the Boulevard du Jubilé/Jubelfeestlaan. At the Ribaucourt metro station the route joins the small ring road at the Place Sainctelette/Saincteletteplein via the Boulevard Léopold II/Leopold II Laan, crosses the Brussels–Scheldt Maritime Canal, connects with the metro at the Yser metro station, enters the city center of the City of Brussels, then runs along the canal up to the Ninove gate. At this point, the route 51 joins the tram route 82, running along the small ring road up to the Brussels-South railway station via the Lemonnier premetro station. At this latter metro station, the route enters the tunnel known as the North–South Axis, up to the Albert premetro station. These stops from Lemonnier to Albert connect with tram routes 3 and 4. When exiting the tunnel, the route 51 heads towards the Place de l'Altitude Cent, then joins the Chaussée d'Alsemberg/Alsembergsesteenweg up to the Uccle-Calevoet railway station, then joins again the Chaussée d'Alsemberg via the Rue Engeland/Engelandstraat and the Rue du Château d'Or/Gulden Kasteelstraat. It then stops at the Van Haelen stop on the Chaussée d'Alsemberg at the border between the Brussels-Capital Region and the Flemish municipality of Linkebeek.

Until September 2023, trams will not run between Gare du Midi/Zuidstation and Altitude Cent/Hoogt Hondred, splitting the line into a northern segment running from Stade/Stadion to Gare du Midi/Zuidstation and a southern segment running from Van Haelen to Altitude 100/Hoogt 100. This is due to construction work at Albert station which will make it inaccessible to route 51. The work at Albert station is part of a project to upgrade it from a premetro station to a multimodal full metro station in preparation for the future Metro Line 3.[3]