Works on the last unfinished premetro tunnel of the Antwerp premetro network and the four unfinished premetro stations, Drink, Morkhoven, Willibrordus, and Stuivenberg, could start in early 2025.  The whole project should then be ready in the first quarter of 2027.

Flemish Mobility Minister Lydia Peeters (Open Vld) has said so. The cost would hover around 60 million euros. But now it also appears that the oldest parts of Antwerp’s premetro, which have been unused for well over 50 years, are in a poor state.

Designs are ready

Last year, the Flemish government gave the go-ahead to finish works on the last unfinished tunnel tube of the Antwerp premetro network – accounting for 2,8 kilometers of tunnels – and the four unfinished premetro stations of Drink, Morkhoven, Willibrordus, and Stuivenberg.

Drink and Morkhoven are in the premetro tunnel under Turnhoutsebaan, inaugurated in 2015, where only Astrid (Central Station) and Zegel stations are currently in service. Stuivenberg and Willibrordus are in a still unused premetro tunnel between Carnot Street and Schijnpoort.

The Belgian-Dutch design team AGT (archipelago/Group A/Tractebel) worked out designs for these. Those designs have now been further refined and elaborated.

Oldest premetro tubes are outdated

Green MP Imade Annouri is satisfied that hurdles for the new premetro tunnel and stations are being cleared. But he thinks the minister should urgently invest more in renovating the oldest premetro tubes because they are hopelessly outdated, especially the oldest parts between Plantin-Diamant-Groenplaats that date back to the 1970s.

More specifically, this concerns the tubes Belgiëlei, Mercatorstraat, Plantin and Moretuslei, Operaplein, Meir, and Groenplaats, while the Frederik Van Eedenplein and Blancefloerlaan section is also in dire need of renovation. “All the experts say you must repair those tubes after 25 years. Here we are talking about a 50-year-old infrastructure,” Annouri said.

Renovation needed

Minister Peeters acknowledges that the oldest premetro sections need thorough renovation. According to her, an analysis by public transport company De Lijn shows that the tracks need renovation; on a structural level, there is water infiltration and concrete rot, and cable ducts and lighting need to be replaced.

“De Lijn is currently studying in detail the different possible scenarios to tackle the thorough renovation,” the minister said in the Flemish parliament. By the end of this year, there should be a clear schedule and a view of the cost. She also pointed to the large maintenance backlog the Flemish government has been struggling with for much longer than today. “Our budgets are limited, and the needs are immense,” Peeters said.

“Hoping that nothing goes wrong while waiting for new research is not a good policy; that is gambling,” Antwerp MP Annouri said in response. According to him, it is also necessary to look at the parties that are partly responsible for this backlog by “under-investing for years”.