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Charleroi, September 2002 - Hundred metres after Pensée, two yardmen are each strapped to a lawn mower, swinging it from on side to the other, making weeds swirl around. Protected by goggles and helmets, they're working their way eastbound. The duo has a long distance to go still. Is it ok to pass, we ask the impromptu porters to the site. They answer that as long as we pretend not to have seen each other when questions are asked later on, they will care less. The hint comes across and we walk on. As the noise of the engines ebbs away, all looks peaceful on this sunny Monday. This part of the Chatelet branch lies in a furrow; bushes grow between the rail track and the grass grows high. At some spots you have to clear your way through coarse branches. As we do, I can faintly hear "Yeah man, the grooviest place in the whole jungle!" echoing in the distance.
Escalators lead to a yellow-arched covering on street level. Steel doors prevent the shopping public from taking a peek at the would-be entrance. A quick peek through the window and we move on through the dark. No hissing of snakes, no cracking of branches, goody! Four out of eight stations were operational to the point that the escalators were running (at least til 1993). But the public never got to use them, since the annual costs of operating the network would be much higher than passengers would ever spend on tram tickets. More exact: six years after the start of the construction, a poorer and wiser city council came to the conclusion that four stations (instead of 70) and 15 trams (instead of 54) would supply the demand. In 1988 the Belgian government withdrew its interest in the LRV network, which resulted in closing down most of regional tram lines. At the same time, the coal and steel industry had turned into an old-fashioned industry, under heavy competition of foreign countries. With the flight of capital, many people moved out as well. But Charleroi doensn't give up just yet. Last March, the Lost .. err.. Light Rail Company of Charleroi (MLC) decided to get a part of the network up and running again. Three branches are planned to be completed by 2007. Hopefully, population numbers have increased by that time. As a rule of thumb, to run a profitable metro network you'll need 1 million inhabitants. Today, Charleroi counts little over 400 000 people. So when the city planned the LRV network by the end of 1960s, it knowingly fought this economic law, so it didn't come as a surprise that the law won. The Flemish reporter Douglas de Coninck dubbed Champeau station 'industrial archeology' and indeed it's like walking into yet another ruin. The platform is partly covered in bushes and a skeleton of iron beams is placed around the platform. On the left side an opening gives way to an underground of some sorts. 20th century beer cans as well as Lay's chips bags can be found lying around like it's nothing. But as far as the fleet of trams is concerned, a close inspection learns that this subterranean territory disguises no vehicles whatsoever. King Louie hides them better than expected.
The area where we met the yardmen is abandoned. Where are they? Is Louie involved in this? No sign of life here. Only the smell of mown grass. All in all, more than suspicious. Let the gendarmes sort this one out; we're on our way to Chet, where a viaduct leads to the city center. As we walk from Chet to Neuville and further on, more and more flats and houses enclose the track. Less than hundred metres from Nord station, the tunnel starts. No gate, no cameras in sight, very When all seems quiet, we proceed into the tunnel, one step at a time. One step at a... seconds later, the emergency sidewalk starts to rumble #$%! We run out of the tunnel and hide in a concrete chamber, metres from the bushes at the tunnel entry. Sticking the head out of the opening, I see but darkness again. Where did the metro go? We give it another try and runwalk down the tunnel, up to a T-junction. The platform of Nord is in full view now. Looking to the right, the track goes on for fifty metres before it bends to the left. Thus the metro that chased us, actually turned a corner towards Samaritaine. From the tunnel entry it was hard to see. A Kodak moment later we turn around. As we walk back to the dead track, the rumbling from behind Nord starts once again. How long have we been in? - hardly 2 minutes. On this Monday afternoon, nothing's wrong with TEC's frequency of service, I conclude. As we do our best not to move suspiciously while speeding up the runwalking at the same time, we head back along the dead trail. For a few seconds, headlights put us into full view, until the tram bends away towards Samaritaine. On the way back the silence is only broken at Chet, by a short screech of what seems a monkey-like squeak. It comes from closeby, most likely from the hollows of the platform. We're exhausted of walking and so do not care to look for an entry in the hollow concrete. Besides, it's better to keep the old ape in peace and leave his territory. In fact, the thought to be treated the way the control panels along the track are, make me push aside fellow explorer Diggelfjoer and hastily climb through the hole in the gate first. See ya, Louie! Thanks for permitting us into your realm - we'll return when the LRV's are powered up again and yours is turned down!
Diggelfjoer's account of this expo Métro Léger de Charleroi on Wikipedia (Dutch) Charleroi, nachtmerrie voor verkeersplanners NOTE - For this report I ripped facts and numbers from Blijvende Blunders (1993), Douglas de Coninck's hard to find tourist guide to 'the big useless constructions' of Belgium. Even more recommended if you live there.
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well. 50 metres into the tunnel the live metro track meets the dead part. As we're watching tail lights disappear into darkness, we peer through the foliage to see if the coast is clear.