Urban exploration Belgium - Charleroi’s Ghost Metro
This ocumentary focuses on the abandoned metro of Charleroi. The following account takes us on a walk starting from the operational section (Waterloo station) all the way to the least-developed part (Champeau station).
The term "abandoned metro" is somewhat inaccurate, or at least requires clarification. Line 5, leading to Châtelet, was never put into service. The section we are looking at is not specifically abandoned, but rather "unexploited." The tracks receive only the bare minimum of maintenance. In fact, the Chet station houses a high-voltage block that helps power the grid, supplementing the Fontaine-L'Evêque station. In other words, the lines are live (electrified), and the technical infrastructure is maintained. The most we can say, then, is that it is a currently unused section of the metro. From the perspective of the costs and problems this entails, it is a colossal thorn in the side of the TEC and the SRWT.
This situation is reminiscent of the abandoned Brussels metro, which we documented back in 2005.
The project for a metro in Charleroi emerged in the 1960s and was established at the very beginning of the 1970s. As the city was then at the peak of its high-quality steel industry (with factories everywhere), the public transport project was pharaonic in scale. The oil crisis of the 70s acted as an initial brake, though without major consequences in the following years. However, the regionalization of the Belgian State abruptly—and one might say, definitively—shattered the structure.
In 1970, the first State reform took place, profoundly dismantling the Kingdom’s federal structure. Regarding our metro, it was the second State reform that disintegrated the project. Indeed, 1980 saw the creation of the Walloon and Flemish regions (Brussels-Capital was not yet a factor). Transport was regionalized. Budgets that had previously been federal became regional, resulting quite simply in a considerably diminished budget envelope. Projects were heavily impacted. The line extensions toward Mont-Sur-Marchienne, Marcinelle, Courcelles, Gosselies, and Ransart were never built.
As far as our current exploration is concerned, the line toward Châtelet consists of: one operational station (Waterloo, located on the central loop); four unexploited but fully equipped stations (Neuville, Chet, Pensée, and Centenaire); two stations left in a "shell" state of structural work (Champeau and Léopold); and five unbuilt stations (Corbeau, Trieux, Châtelineau, Châtelet, and Baquet). I ended my journey at Champeau, as the path toward Châtelet becomes an absolutely impenetrable jungle beyond that point.
The line we are visiting here dates back to 1987 and was erected under the direction of architect Jean Yernaux.
Today, the tracks are visited by TEC agents who perform maintenance on the high-voltage blocks at Chet and Centenaire. Additionally, pumps are kept running to drain parts of the network, notably the Centenaire section, which is underground. The equipped but unexploited section is weeded regularly. Sadly, the TEC must deal with a colossal amount of vandalism, particularly in the form of littering. During the summer of 2015, they were forced to remove 48 tons of illegally dumped waste. No less. The TEC mobilizes teams 7 to 8 times a year to clean up the tracks, which are systematically defiled by uncivil behavior.
The tracks are used for everything except the metro. They are grounds where drug addicts, graffiti artists, photographers, homeless people, metal thieves, and bored teenagers end up.
The project to put the line into service frequently returns to the table, especially since the Cora Châtelineau area attracts significant crowds. However, the estimated cost of 55 million euros for restoration makes politicians hesitate. So far, the project has always been postponed, which is hardly surprising. Nevertheless, during the last occurrence in 2017, the possibility of completely demolishing the infrastructure was mentioned for the first time. Indeed, its maintenance costs the SRWT approximately 15,000 euros per month. Rasing buildings is currently the "order of the day" in Charleroi. Consequently, it wouldn't be surprising, though it would likely take decades to see so much as a shovel on-site, regardless of the chosen project.
My visit was stressful throughout. Perhaps it was a bit of fear of encountering junkies—which is never out of the question in Charleroi (as I was leaving, an addict was shooting up in the adjacent park)—but mostly it was the fact of walking on a live track. Man, walking on the tracks is stressful enough as it is! The situation is a far cry from the Antwerp pre-metro or the Brussels metro, but even if it's unexploited, you can clearly see it's still frequented.
Located to the east of Charleroi, the unexploited line visited totals 3.7 linear kilometers.
