Possible rescue Tram 7: First reactions are ‘for positive positive’ (Antwerp)
Antwerp, Mortsel
Sacha Van Wiele, Filip Spoelders
Dirk Wiesé of TreinTramBus is pleasantly surprised with the proposal on the table to allow Tram 7 to run between Mortsel and the Antwerp Island after all. It will only come if the flow of tram 7 in the city center is ensured, however. Ingrid Pira also reacts ‘for enthusiastically positive’.
“De Lijn follows colleagues in foreign cities with a frequency of 3 minutes,” says Wiesé. “That’s how it should be. This is a doubling of the frequency on the route between Gemeenteplein and Sint-Pietersvliet. Only one has to be fulfilled. If the flow of this tram is not assured, there is a risk that the traffic between the National Bank and Sint-Pietersvliet will get stuck. So what can be a super tram will quickly become a disaster tram.”
Wiesé finds it remarkable that the short route runs to Sint-Pietersvliet and not to the MAS, like the long route of tram 7. “That is only two stops less”, says Wiesé.
Mortsels Groen councilor Ingrid Pira is positive about the possible rescue and reinforcement of tram 7. “I still want to see the whole of this plan first, you want to gain something with public transport, but you risk losing something elsewhere”. says Pirah. “It is good that people in Mortsel can be in Antwerp quickly and in the future, but the number of stops has been reduced. That is not a good thing for some people, who take the tram to different addresses, for example.”