Belgium's first horse-drawn trams were introduced in Brussels in 1869, running from the Namur Gate to the Bois de la Cambre/Ter Kamerenbos.

[3] These last two companies used 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in) metre gauge track and started with steam traction instead of with horse trams.

Because the TB concession expired on 31 December 1945, an agreement was concluded between the State and the Province of Brabant to continue the operation of the Brussels trams.

Great efforts were made to catch up on overdue maintenance and 787 motor trams were modernised to the Brussels standard type.

Growing traffic congestion led to plans to build reserved tracks for trams, and in the city centre to put them in tunnel.

In addition to the major refurbishment of the standard cars, STIB/MIVB had a great need for modern equipment to serve the 1958 Brussels World's Fair (Expo '58), to which its organisers wished to provide public transport access from the whole city.

The system exists in a somewhat unusual local government context, because Brussels is a self-governing region, as an enclave within Flanders, although only some 3.3 km (2.1 mi) from Wallonia at the closest point.

The MOBIB contactless smart card can be used on buses, trams, the metro and for mainline railway season tickets, and is gradually being extended to other modes, although it is not yet accepted for single journeys by De Lijn.

A simple tariff system permits unlimited changes with a one-hour period for €2.50 when bought from the driver, €2.10 from a ticket machine.

The rate of detected fare-dodging is 4.15%,[5] despite periodic enforcement campaigns, and this is being addressed by the installation of ticket barriers in all metro stations.

[9] In some other places, the track layout is used to avoid hold-ups; for instance on route 92 at the Ma Campagne and Janson crossroads, which lie 300 metres (980 ft) from each other on the Chaussée de Charleroi/Charleroisesteenweg.

There is lateral space for only one track in a raised central reservation, and the rails swerve to the left approximately 100 metres (330 ft) in front of the junction so that cars can queue in the right-hand lane.

The premetro service between Brussels-North railway station and Albert was restructured with fewer lines passing through it, but at more regular intervals.

The terminus is situated in the middle of a traffic roundabout where eight streets meet, and consists of a circle of track bisected by a through line, connected by four sets of points.

The Flemish Region, under its Brabantnet plan, intends to build a new line to the north of the city, from Heysel/Heizel to Willebroek alongside the A12 road.

[15] Its success will require integration with the existing Brussels regional system; for instance the line will have to be built at standard rather than metre gauge (as the other Flemish trams are).

During 2014 and 2015, STIB/MIVB promoted a project to 'tramify' the Porte de Namur/Naamsepoort–Delta section of the overloaded 71 bus route, which carries over 12,000 passengers per day in each direction.

The best option would be to connect it to the planned tram from the Central Station to Tour & Taxis, but this poses the question of how to route it through the city centre.

[23] On 28 March 2023 the Brussels regional government announced a new "Tram Plan" to build 13 new lines totalling 40 km in length by 2035.

[25] The 13 major projects are: Tracks are renewed periodically, both when they wear out, and also to increase the lateral clearance between them, to enable the safe passage of wider trams.

On some of the busiest routes, the convenience of the low floor is lost because of the anomalies caused by the hesitant upgrade of tram to metro.

The premetro tunnels have been built to allow for eventual upgrade to heavy metro, so most of the platform is high, and is connected to the street (at least in the upward direction) by escalator.

The three steps this entails make life difficult for passengers with baby buggies or suitcases, even though the new low-floor trams are accessible to wheel-chair users.

In the beginning of the 20th century, those operated by the Tramways Bruxellois were dark green, and those by the Chemins de Fer Economiques were chocolate.

The system exists in happy symbiosis with an active heritage operation based at the Woluwe depot, and privately hired trams have free access to the tracks.

This runs at weekends from April to October; occasionally, such as on Belgian National Day (21 July), these trams appear in the city centre, where the line on the Rue Royale is trolleypole-enabled.

A few heritage trams are equipped with pantographs, and these ones can travel all over the city (except in the premetro tunnels because they are not equipped with the speed control system required there); every Sunday from April to September, and one Sunday a month outside this period, a 5000-series trams (two-bogie model built 1935) takes tourists on a four-hour circuit of the Brussels-Capital Region with a 50-minute pause around noon.

In the UK, the North Yorkshire Moors Railway has restored and operates steam tram engine 1625 ("Lucie") built in 1890 for the Tramways de Bruxelles à Evere et Extensions.

In Canada, a 4-axle PCC is awaiting restoration at the Ontario St shed of Vancouver's Downtown Historic Railway, and in Argentina, the Asociación Amigos del Tranvía in Buenos Aires operates tram 9069.

The drivers of this mobile restaurant follow a special course in "soft driving" in order to avoid spilling the diners' wine or their soup.