The Brussels Metro (French: Métro de Bruxelles [metʁo də bʁysɛl]; Dutch: Brusselse metro [ˈbrʏsəlsə ˈmeːtroː]) is a rapid transit system serving a large part of the Brussels-Capital Region of Belgium.

The metro-grade lines are M1, M2, M5, and M6[1] with some shared sections, covering a total of 39.9 kilometres (24.8 mi),[1] with 59 metro-only stations.

The original network, running between De Brouckère and Schuman, was inaugurated on 17 December 1969 as premetro tramways,[6] which were later, in 1976, converted into the common section of the first two metro lines.

[3] On 4 April 2009, with the completion of the "loop" of line 2 connecting Delacroix and Gare de l'Ouest/Weststation, the Brussels Metro was significantly reorganised.

Additionally, some metro stations offer suburban railway links as part of the Brussels Regional Express Network (RER/GEN) system.

The Brussels Intercommunal Transport Company (French: Société des Transports Intercommunaux de Bruxelles or STIB, Dutch: Maatschappij voor het Intercommunaal Vervoer te Brussel or MIVB) was created in 1954.

The next extension was the opening of stations in Molenbeek-Saint-Jean (Beekkant, the new terminus, Etangs Noirs/Zwarte Vijvers and Comte de Flandre/Graaf van Vlaanderen).

Three years later, line 1A was extended to Heysel/Heizel (near the site of the 1958 World's Fair and the Heysel Stadium) at one end and to Herrmann-Debroux at the other.

A further extension to Gare de l'Ouest/Weststation (Brussels-West Station) in April 2009 closed the "loop" of line 2 and led to a major restructuring of metro service.

The Brussels Metro system is complemented by an S-train network serving the broader metropolitan region and opened in late 2015.

The incident prompted the temporary closure of the entire system, and a major reduction in service for several weeks.

The somewhat shorter Line 25 also runs the Greater Ring premetro, but with different termini at both ends, and the southern terminus connecting to Boondael/Boondaal railway station.

It uses contactless technology based on the Calypso system originally developed for Paris and is in some ways similar e.g. to the London's Oyster card.

The cost of travel with STIB/MIVB means of transport (metro, tram and bus) is calculated per hour.

GO vending machines accept coins, local and international chip and PIN credit and debit cards.

The Brussels Metro is served by 217 carriages of M1-M5 series, manufactured by La Brugeoise et Nivelles, ACEC, Bombardier Transportation, Alstom and CAF and delivered between 1976 and 1999, as well as 21 six-car trainsets of the new M6 series (also known as "Boa"), manufactured by CAF and delivered between 2007 and 2012.