Le Metro Leger de Charleroi

In the late sixties and early seventies, a period when politicians were squandering money left, right and center in the pursuit of a utopian Belgium of the future, the small city of Charleroi decided a metro or light railway system would improve its attraction.

Ignoring the phenomenal construction and operating costs that were impossible to recuperate from ticket sales in such a lighly populated area, they started work on the project. Several lines and fully operational stations were completed until most of the project was shut down by realism or lack of funds, I’m not sure.

Even though they were completed, most of these stations were never opened to the public. In the late eighties, I distinctly remember peering down into one of these stations through the windows of a shuttered entrance and seeing the lights glowing and the escalators running.

While politicians still argue over what to do with this high-maintenance mess, it has become the home of graffiti artists, urban explorers and the unavoidable vandals.

A bunch of urban exploration fanatics from the Netherlands, have created an extensive photo documentary of their travels through this abandoned dream. You can also find a detailed history of Tramways and the Metro of Charleroi on Francois Dierick’s site.