In Charleroi, in Belgium’s Walloon region, one of the most unusual infrastructures of the late 20th century is set to come into operation after more than forty years of inactivity. The city’s M5 light metro line—long nicknamed the “ghost metro”—is expected to be inaugurated between 2026 and 2027, following a lengthy process of restoration and completion.

The project dates back to the 1960s, when an ambitious urban mobility plan was designed, foreseeing eight branches and as many as 69 stations. Work on the M5 branch (towards Châtelineau/Châtelet) began in the early 1980s but came to an abrupt halt in 1986 when public funding was cut. At the time construction stopped, four stations—Neuville, Chet, Pensée, and Centenaire—had already been completed, while two others were in an advanced stage of construction.

For decades, this segment remained suspended between decay and dormancy, becoming the subject of urban exploration and media narratives. The turning point came in 2023, when the TEC operator launched a redevelopment program supported by European Next Generation EU funds. The plan includes the restoration of the six existing stations and the construction of two new stops, Corbeau and Les Viviers, with the goal of making the line operational by 2027.

Despite the sensational framing in past years that portrayed the M5 as a unique case of a fully built but unused infrastructure, similar examples exist in several cities—from the 1920 Cincinnati Subway to Paris’s Haxo “ghost station”. Rather than being an exception, Charleroi thus fits into a broader lineage of planned but never activated transit networks, now being reinterpreted in light of new investment policies and urban strategies focused on sustainable reuse.

Opening image: Abandoned station in Charleroi. Photo by JanJan de Paris from Flickr.