STIB: timeline for new M7 wheels finally clarified, improvement announced for summer 2026

STIB has updated its website to announce that the manufacturer has approved new wheel bands, intended to eliminate premature ovalisation. The first deliveries are expected in the last quarter of 2025, followed by a gradual replacement across the entire fleet. The operator aims for "a significant improvement [...] from summer 2026".

This official confirmation comes one week after our symbolic action on 8 July, during which anniversary cakes were handed to STIB and to Minister Elke Van den Brandt to mark four years of excessive noise and vibration.

Stop Bruit Metro welcomes this progress but remains cautious and insists on the following:

• we call for regular updates from STIB on the progress of wheel replacement;
• any improvement, if real, will only be felt in a year;
• current transitional measures (rail grinding and wheel reprofiling) are insufficient and must be strengthened in the meantime;
• independent monitoring is essential: involvement of the judicial expert or a third-party body to assess effectiveness on the ground.

Mr Olivier Maingain (Libres), Mayor of Woluwe-Saint-Lambert, also remains cautious:
"Caution, caution, caution. We’re not going to believe STIB on their word alone."
(see: (FR) 30/07/2025 DH: Saga des nuisances du métro à Bruxelles : la STIB annonce avoir une solution)

The citizens’ movement Stop Bruit Metro will continue to monitor the situation and take action as long as the noise and vibration problems remain unresolved in a satisfactory manner.