Molenbeek-Saint-Jean in the context of "Brussels Metro line 5"

Anderlecht (French: [ɑ̃dœʁlɛkt] ; Dutch: [ˈɑndərlɛxt] ) is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the south-western part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels, Forest, Molenbeek-Saint-Jean, and Saint-Gilles, as well as the Flemish municipalities of Dilbeek and Sint-Pieters-Leeuw. In common with all of Brussels' municipalities, it is legally bilingual (French–Dutch).

There are several historically and architecturally distinct districts within Anderlecht. As of 1 January 2024, the municipality had a population of 126,581 inhabitants. The total area is 17.91 km (6.92 sq mi), which gives a population density of 7,066/km (18,300/sq mi). Its upper area is greener and less densely populated.

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.

Line 2 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 the section between Delacroix and Gare de l'Ouest/Weststation was opened, which allowed to close the "loop" from and to Simonis/Elisabeth. The configuration of Simonis/Elisabeth though does not allow trains on line 2 to perform the loop several consecutive times in the same direction, i.e. a train running clockwise from Elisabeth will have to run counterclockwise from Simonis. The two termini of line 2 have thus received different names: originally Simonis (Elisabeth) and Simonis (Leopold II), changed in November 2013 to Elisabeth and Simonis. Between Yser/IJzer and the Porte de Hal/Hallepoort, the line runs under the Small Ring (Brussels' inner ring road), which was itself built on the site of the former second walls of Brussels. The line crosses the municipalities of Koekelberg, Molenbeek-Saint-Jean, City of Brussels, Saint-Gilles and Anderlecht.

The first stations on the Small Ring were opened in 1970 with tramways connecting Rogier to Porte de Namur/Naamsepoort. Louise/Louiza was opened in 1985 and Simonis in 1986, but it was only in 1988 that the actual metro line 2 was first serviced with metros. The following stations also opened that year: Ribaucourt, Yser, Hôtel des Monnaies/Munthof, Porte de Hal and Gare du Midi/Zuidstation. The existing stations were converted in order to be serviced by metros. In 1993, the line was expanded to Clemenceau, and then to Delacroix in 2006. The route of line 2 is also currently served by line 6, which then continues from Simonis to Roi Baudouin/Koning Boudewijn.

Line 6 is a rapid transit line on the Brussels Metro in Belgium operated by STIB/MIVB. It connects Roi Baudouin/Koning Boudewijn in the north-west of Brussels to Simonis/Elisabeth to the north-west of the city centre, then performing a counterclockwise "loop" around the centre up to Simonis again. During this loop, the line runs under the Small Ring (Brussels' inner ring road), from Porte de Hal/Hallepoort to Yser/IJzer. It has existed in its current form since 4 April 2009, when it replaced former line 1A between Roi Baudouin and Beekkant. It serves 25 metro stations and has 26 stops, metros on that line stopping twice at Simonis. The Simonis-Elisabeth loop is also served by line 2. The line has also a common section with lines 1 and 5 between Gare de l'Ouest/Weststation and Beekkant. A connection with those lines is also possible at Arts-Loi/Kunst-Wet. Starting from Roi Baudouin, the line crosses the municipalities of the City of Brussels, Jette, Koekelberg, Molenbeek-Saint-Jean, Anderlecht and Saint-Gilles.

Brussels-West Station (French: Gare de l'Ouest; Dutch: Weststation) is a multimodal transport hub located in the municipality of Molenbeek-Saint-Jean, in the western part of Brussels, Belgium. It mainly consists of Gare de l'Ouest (French) or Weststation (Dutch), a Brussels Metro station on lines 1, 2, 5 and 6, as well as a tram and bus stop. Additionally, Brussels-West railway station (French: Gare de Bruxelles-Ouest; Dutch: Station Brussel-West) is a railway station operated by the National Railway Company of Belgium (SNCB/NMBS). It is served by the Brussels Regional Express Network (RER/GEN) service.

The original railway station was opened in 1872 by the Belgian State Railways; it was closed for passengers in 1984. The metro station opened on 6 October 1982 as part of the Beekkant–Saint-Guidon/Sint-Guido extension of former line 1B. Then, following the reorganisation of the Brussels Metro on 4 April 2009, it is served by lines 1, 2, 5 and 6. The railway station also reopened on that occasion.

The Maelbeek (French, pronounced [malbek, -bɛk] ; former Dutch spelling) or Maalbeek (modern Dutch, pronounced [ˈmaːlbeːk]) is a stream that flows through several municipalities in Brussels, Belgium, including Etterbeek, Ixelles, Saint-Josse-ten-Noode, Schaerbeek. It is a tributary of the Senne, which it joins up in Schaerbeek, from its source located to the south near La Cambre Abbey. Maelbeek/Maalbeek metro station is located in the central area of this Maalbeek valley.

The name Maalbeek, meaning "mill brook", comes from the Dutch words beek (meaning "brook") and maal (meaning "to mill"). Molenbeek has a similar derivation. The stream was vaulted in 1872, at which time there were 58 ponds along it. Nowadays, only six are left: the ponds of La Cambre Abbey; of Ixelles (two); of Leopold Park; of Marie-Louise Square; and of Josaphat Park.