200 soldiers step in as metro partially reopens

The Brussels metro partially reopens on Wednesday under the watchful eye of 200 Belgian soldiers. The military has been called in to secure the underground rail network together with the railway police and private security personnel.

The metro will reopen gradually, as the Brussels region maintains its terror alert at level four. On Wednesday, metro line 1 will operate between Gare de l'Ouest and Montgomery, while line 2 is fully up-and-running. Metro lines 5 and 6 will not run on Wednesday.

On the trams, lines 3 and 4 will serve their routes in full, but will not be stopping at Bourse, Anneessens and Lemonnier in the city centre. Other tram lines are operating normally, although the 51 and 82 will not be stopping at Lemonnier.

The soldiers are to be mainly stationed at the entrances and exits of the metro stops, in the stations and possibly even on the platforms, writes brusselnieuws.be. They are not expected to ride the metro.

By opting for military protection in the metro, the federal police intends to free up some of its staff to secure Brussels' schools, which will receive extra protection on Wednesday from police agents from across the country.