De Brouckère station
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De Brouckère is a Brussels underground station consisting of both a metro station (serving lines 1A and 1B) and a premetro station. It is named after the city square above-ground, which itself is named after the former mayor of Brussels Charles de Brouckère. The station was inaugurated on December 17, 1969 as a premetro station (i.e., with tramways instead of metros), part of the first underground line in Belgium, then going from De Brouckère to Schuman. In 1976, this premetro line was converted into a metro line that was later split into two distinct lines in 1982: lines 1A and 1B, both of which serve De Brouckère. Since 1976, De Brouckère is also served by the North-South Axis, which is part of the premetro system.
The premetro station, located under the Place De Brouckèreplein, is connected to the metro station by a long plane escalator. The metro station is located under the Rue de l'Évêque / Bisschopstraat. The whole complex is also connected to the underground shopping galleries between the Place de la Monnaie / Muntplein and the Boulevard Anspachlaan.
This stations lies near the famous hotel Metropolitain, the UGC De Brouckère cinema, the Monnaie / Munt theatre and one end of the Rue Neuve / Nieuwstraat. The metro station was renewed in 2005.
The metro station serving lines 1A and 1B is known to have one of the widest gaps between the metro trains and the platform, as this station is curved to follow the alignment between the neighboring Central station and Saint Catherine metro station. For safety reasons, the curved platform edges are equipped with flashing lights to warn passengers of the gap.
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