Stib begins annual battle against leaves on tram tracks

Brussels public transport operator Stib has begun its yearly battle to keep autumn leaves off tram tracks.

“Of the 150 kilometres of the tram network, almost half are near trees,” Ronny Haemers, tram network manager at Stib, told Bruzz.

“Those places are specially monitored during autumn. Depending on the checks, Bruxelles Propreté interventions are then planned.”

Bruxelles Propreté works to clear leaves from pavements, cycle paths and roads, but the top priority is tram tracks.

When trams pass, they flatten dry leaves that have accumulated on the rails and create a layer that makes the tracks very slippery.

Leaves on the rails can also cause the tram to have less grip and take longer to brake.

Between mid-October and mid-December, a team focuses specifically on removing fallen leaves throughout the region. On regional roads, which cover 15 to 20% of Brussels territory, seven Bruxelles Propreté employees work daily to remove leaves.

More than 4,000m³ of leaves are vacuumed up in two months using a tractor called a Unimog that can compress between 30m³ and 50m³ of dry leaves very quickly.

During the day, two Unimogs equipped with sand drive over the network to check whether the grip of the tram tracks is sufficient. Where necessary, they spray sand on the tracks to make them less slippery.

Photo: Smiley.toerist/Wikimedia. Licensed under Creative Commons