The route was the first to use the newly opened premetro tunnel under Borgerhout, called the Reuzenpijp, which begins at Astrid station and comes above ground just before the Muggenberg stop.

It is promoted as a "fast tram" (sneltram) route, as most stations in the premetro tunnel have not (yet) been opened, allowing a 15-minute connection between the city center and the Wommelgem P+R.

Past the Muggenberg stop, route 8 enters the recently opened premetro tunnel, while tram 24 uses the older above ground tracks.

The tram 8 continued to run on the Eksterlaar-Lambermontplaats trajectory in the following decades, with an exception in 1988, when, due to construction works in the Lange Leemstraat, the route had to use the premetro tunnel to the Groenplaats for several months.

However, due to ongoing construction works at the Nationalestraat, it was temporarily impossible to join the trajectory with the original tram route 4, which was also shortened to the Marnixplaats.

On March 30, 2013, after the works in the Nationalestraat had finished, tram route 4 was able to start service on its definitive trajectory Hoboken-Silsburg.

After five years of tunneling and construction works, structural works on the tunnel and stations were largely finished, however, due to austerity measures imposed in the 1980s by the successive Martens governments, and the transfer of authority to the Flemish government after state reforms, construction on the premetro network was put to a halt.

The creation of route 8 and the opening of the eastern "Reuzenpijp" premetro tunnel were a part of the 2020 mobility masterplan as the LIVAN project.

A tweet from DeLijn, on 17 October 2019,[12] stated that Tram route would be changing, as part of the Northern Line (Noorderlijn) project in Antwerp City.