Brussels Metro line 5 in the context of "Congress Column"

Erasme (French, pronounced [eʁasm] ) or Erasmus (Dutch, pronounced [eːˈrɑsmʏs]) is a Brussels Metro station serving as the western terminus of line 5. It is located in the municipality of Anderlecht, in the western part of Brussels, Belgium. The station was designed by Philippe Samyn and Partners and is named after Erasmus Hospital, which it serves. It lies at grade and has a single island platform, which can be reached through tunnels under the tracks.

The metro station opened on 15 September 2003 as part of the Bizet–Erasme/Erasmus extension of former line 1B, including the stations La Roue/Het Rad, CERIA/COOVI and Eddy Merckx. Then, following the reorganisation of the Brussels Metro on 4 April 2009, it is served by the extended east–west line 5.

The Brussels Metro (French: Métro de Bruxelles [metʁo də bʁysɛl]; Dutch: Brusselse metro [ˈbrʏsəlsə ˈmeːtroː]) is a rapid transit system serving a large part of the Brussels-Capital Region of Belgium. It consists of four conventional metro lines and three premetro lines. The metro-grade lines are M1, M2, M5, and M6 with some shared sections, covering a total of 39.9 kilometres (24.8 mi), with 59 metro-only stations. The premetro network consists of three tram lines (T4, T7, and T10) that partly travel over underground sections that were intended to be eventually converted into metro lines. Underground stations in the premetro network use the same design as metro stations. A few short underground tramway sections exist, so there is a total of 52.0 kilometres (32.3 mi) of underground metro and tram network. There are a total of 69 metro and premetro stations as of 2011.

The Brussels Metro was planned at the beginning of the 1960s to become a fully underground network. The original network, running between De Brouckère and Schuman, was inaugurated on 17 December 1969 as premetro tramways, which were later, in 1976, converted into the common section of the first two metro lines. These lines were then considered a single line with two branches, between De Brouckère and Tomberg and De Brouckère and Beaulieu. On 4 April 2009, with the completion of the "loop" of line 2 connecting Delacroix and Gare de l'Ouest/Weststation, the Brussels Metro was significantly reorganised.

The Cinquantenaire Arcade (French: Arcade(s) du Cinquantenaire; Dutch: Arcade(s) van het Jubelpark) is a memorial arcade in the centre of the Parc du Cinquantenaire/Jubelpark in Brussels, Belgium. The centrepiece is a monumental triple arch known as the Cinquantenaire Arch (French: Arc du Cinquantenaire; Dutch: Triomfboog van het Jubelpark). It is topped by a bronze quadriga sculptural group with a female charioteer, representing the Province of Brabant personified raising the national flag.

The monument is oriented facing Brussels' city centre, on one side in the axis of the Rue de la Loi/Wetstraat, which, crossing the Leopold Quarter, ends in the Royal Quarter, seat of the Belgian Parliament, the Belgian Government and the Royal Palace; and on the other side, in the axis of the Avenue de Tervueren/Tervurenlaan, leads to the former Palace of the Colonies, today's Royal Museum for Central Africa, in the suburb of Tervuren. The Cinquantenaire area is served by Brussels-Schuman railway station, as well as by the metro stations Schuman and Merode on lines 1 and 5.

Erasmus Hospital (French: Hôpital Érasme; Dutch: Erasmus Ziekenhuis) is a teaching hospital in the municipality of Anderlecht, Brussels, Belgium. It is a research hospital associated with the Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), and was opened in 1977. It has 1,048 beds and 4,000 employees, treating between 25,000 and 30,000 inpatients and between 350,000 and 400,000 outpatients each year.

The hospital is named after the Dutch humanist writer and theologian Erasmus of Rotterdam who, in the 16th century, stayed in the canons' house in central Anderlecht (now part of Brussels, then a separate village on the outskirts), near the Church of St. Peter and St. Guidon. It can be accessed from Erasme/Erasmus metro station on line 5 of the Brussels Metro.

Bizet (French pronunciation: [bizɛ]) is a Brussels Metro station on the western branch of line 5. It is located in the municipality of Anderlecht, in the western part of Brussels, Belgium. The station received its name from the aboveground square Place Bizet/Bizetplein, itself named after the French classical music composer Georges Bizet.

The metro station opened on 10 January 1992, and until 2003, it was the western terminus of former line 1B. On 15 September 2003, a further extension from Bizet westwards to Erasme/Erasmus was opened. Then, following the reorganisation of the Brussels Metro on 4 April 2009, it is served by the extended east–west line 5.

La Roue (French, pronounced [la ʁu]) or Het Rad (Dutch, pronounced [ət ˈrɑt]) is a Brussels Metro station on the western branch of line 5. It is located in the municipality of Anderlecht, in the western part of Brussels, Belgium. The station serves the La Roue/Het Rad ("The Wheel") district, after which it is named.

The metro station opened on 15 September 2003 as part of the Bizet–Erasme/Erasmus extension of former line 1B, including the stations Erasme/Erasmus, Eddy Merckx and CERIA/COOVI. Then, following the reorganisation of the Brussels Metro on 4 April 2009, it is served by the extended east–west line 5.

CERIA (French) or COOVI (Dutch) is a Brussels Metro station on the western branch of line 5. It is located in the municipality of Anderlecht, in the western part of Brussels, Belgium. The station serves the Food and Chemical Industries Education and Research Center (CERIA/COOVI), after which it is named, and is also the closest metro station to the IKEA Anderlecht store.

The metro station opened on 15 September 2003 as part of the Bizet–Erasme/Erasmus extension of former line 1B, including the stations Erasme/Erasmus, Eddy Merckx and La Roue/Het Rad. Then, following the reorganisation of the Brussels Metro on 4 April 2009, it is served by the extended east–west line 5.

Eddy Merckx (French pronunciation: [ɛdi mɛʁks]; Dutch pronunciation: [ˈɛdi ˈmɛr(ə)ks]) is a Brussels Metro station on the western branch of line 5. It is located in the municipality of Anderlecht, in the western part of Brussels, Belgium. The station is named after the Belgian cyclist Eddy Merckx, five-times winner of the Tour de France. It is decorated with objects commemorating Merckx, including, displayed in a glass cabinet on the station platform, the bicycle on which he set the hour record in 1972.

The metro station opened on 15 September 2003 as part of the Bizet–Erasme/Erasmus extension of former line 1B, including the stations Erasme/Erasmus, CERIA/COOVI and La Roue/Het Rad. Then, following the reorganisation of the Brussels Metro on 4 April 2009, it is served by the extended east–west line 5.

Line 1 is a rapid transit line on the Brussels Metro in Belgium operated by STIB/MIVB. It has existed in its current form since 4 April 2009, when former line 1B, which ran between Stockel/Stokkel and Erasme/Erasmus, was shortened to Gare de l'Ouest/Weststation. The section between Gare de l'Ouest and Erasme is now served by line 5. The line serves 21 metro stations, and has a common section with line 5 between Gare de l'Ouest and Merode, and with lines 2 and 6 between Gare de l'Ouest and Beekkant. At Arts-Loi/Kunst-Wet, the line also connects with lines 2 and 6. Railway connections are possible at Brussels-Central, Brussels-Schuman, Merode and Brussels-West. The line crosses the municipalities of Molenbeek-Saint-Jean, Koekelberg, City of Brussels, Etterbeek, Woluwe-Saint-Pierre and Woluwe-Saint-Lambert.

The first section of this line was built in the late 1960s between Schuman and De Brouckère, but was served by trams. The first metro was brought into service on 20 September 1976, and the existing underground section was extended up to Tomberg on former line 1B, and up to Beaulieu on former line 1A. Line 1B was later expanded westwards, to Sainte-Catherine/Sint-Katelijne in 1977, to Beekkant in 1981, to Saint-Guidon/Sint-Guido in 1982, to Veeweyde/Veeweide in 1985, to Bizet in 1992 and finally to Erasme in 2003. The line was also expanded eastwards, to Alma in 1982 and to Stockel in 1988.