Mortsel (Brussels Morning Newspaper) -The trams cannot operate between Mortsel Boechout and Antwerp because a fault occurred in the overhead line system. The overhead line suffered damage when workers conducted construction activities in Berchem. The repair works are ongoing.
Aerial work platform equipment crashed into power lines along Grotesteenweg in Berchem, which caused service delays for trams between Boechout, Mortsel, and Antwerp. Early morning observations revealed the accident happened at approximately 5:15 a.m., which forced Line 7 and Line 15 tram services to stop operating. Repair teams are present at the site to address the problem, while shuttle buses help commuters through the affected area.
The report of the defect came in early this morning.
“Around 5:15, we received the report that the overhead line was damaged,”
Says Marco Demerling of De Lijn.
“That happened when working with a lifting platform on the Grotesteenweg in Berchem.”
Trams on lines 7 and 15 are not running due to the defect.
“Our teams on site are doing everything they can to solve the problem quickly. These are lines with a lot of electricity, so they have to be very careful.”
Have similar incidents occurred in the region before?
The Antwerp region has seen previous cases of infrastructure damage that mainly targeted overhead tram lines. Services on Antwerp’s busy tram lines 7 and 15 sometimes encounter disruptions from maintenance work and construction activities alongside vehicle collisions. During 2022, Berchem faced overhead line damage from construction equipment that led to multiple hours of disruptions.
Rapid maintenance operations with shuttle bus replacements become necessary to reduce transportation disruption for commuters during such incidents. Maintenance and construction activities must be carefully coordinated because of the densely populated urban setting and because trams receive heavy use in this area.
