Simonis metro station renamed

The Brussels public transport authority MIVB has bowed to pressure from passengers and renamed one of the two stations at Simonis in the north-east of the city in Koekelberg. The metro site will now be split into stations Simonis and Elisabeth.

The problem arose in 2009 with the extension of the metro to the new Gare de l'Ouest/Weststation. The existing Simonis station then became the terminus for lines 2 and 6, as well as a through station for line 2 in the other direction towards Roi Baudouin. The two stations, although under one roof, were given the names Simonis (Elisabeth) and Simonis (Leopold II), much to the confusion of metro passengers.

Simonis takes its name from the square by which it stands, dedicated to Eugène Simonis (1810-1893), the sculptor of among other things the statue of Godefroy de Bouillon on the Place Royale. The square stands at the end of the Boulevard Leopold II. The name Elisabeth refers to the nearby Parc Elisabeth, named for the Queen of Belgium and wife of Albert I, as well as the current crown princess.

At the same time, the MIVB has launched a new version of its transport network, redesigned, the authority says, in a more schematic format, the design clearly based more on the London Underground map originally published in 1931. As well as stations and stops, the map also shows a number of important landmarks such as the Justice Palace and the Atomium. The new network map can be downloaded here.