Brussels-North railway station

Last updated

Brussels-North
SNCB logo.svg
Railway Station
Station Brussel-Noord Stationshal.jpg
Main hall of Brussels-North railway station
General information
LocationRue du Progrès / Vooruitgangstraat 76
1030 Schaerbeek, Brussels-Capital Region
Belgium
Coordinates 50°51′36″N4°21′42″E / 50.86000°N 4.36167°E / 50.86000; 4.36167
Owned by SNCB/NMBS
Operated by SNCB/NMBS
Line(s)0, 25, 27, 36, 50, 161
Platforms12
Connections Brussels Metro-simplified.svg Brussels Metro: 3 4
Construction
ArchitectJacques and Paul Saintenoy
Architectural style Modernism
Other information
Station codeFBN
History
Opened4 October 1952;72 years ago (1952-10-04)
Brussels-North railway station
Location
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Brussels-North
Location within Belgium
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Brussels-North
Brussels-North (Europe)
Brussels Premetro
North-South Axis
Legend
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 4 25 55
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Brussels-North
(Gare du Nord/Noordstation)
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Brussels-South
(Gare du Midi/Zuidstation)
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Parvis de Saint-Gilles/
Sint-Gillis Voorplein
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 Horta 81 97
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 Albert
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 51│3 4

Brussels-North railway station (French : Gare de Bruxelles-Nord; Dutch : Station Brussel-Noord) [lower-alpha 1] is one of the three major railway stations in Brussels, Belgium; the other two are Brussels-Central and Brussels-South. Every regular domestic and international train (except Eurostar) passing there has a planned stop. The station has 200,000 passengers per week, mainly commuters, making it one of the busiest in Belgium.

Contents

Brussels-North is the end point of the premetro (underground tram) North–South Axis (on lines 4 and 10), and an important node of the Brussels Intercommunal Transport Company (STIB/MIVB), as well as of bus lines of the Flemish transport company De Lijn. More than 30 regional bus lines depart from there, as do international Eurolines coach services.

The station is located in the Brussels municipality of Schaerbeek, in the middle of the Northern Quarter business district (also called Little Manhattan), with several corporation headquarters such as Belgacom Towers, Rogier Tower and others, government offices, as well as Flemish ministries. Right next to the station is the Rue d'Aerschot/Aarschotstraat, an area of prostitution "behind windows". [1]

Naming

The Brussels-Capital Region is bilingual; hence, both the French and Dutch names of the station—Bruxelles-Nord and Brussel-Noord—are official. Outside Belgium, this often leads to the use of combined shorthands; for example in the Thomas Cook European Rail Timetable , Brussels-North is designated as BrusselsNord/Noord; NS (Dutch Railways) announce the station as Brussel Noord/Nord. The station's bilingual French–Dutch name is otherwise generally translated in English to Brussels-North.

History

First and second stations (1835–1952)

The very first railway station in Brussels was Allée Verte/Groendreef railway station near the site of today's Yser/IJzer metro station, north of the City of Brussels. It was from there that, on 5 May 1835, the first passenger train on a public railway in continental Europe departed. [2] [3]

This first station was replaced in March 1846 by a new monumental station on the Place Charles Rogier/Karel Rogierplein, a short distance east from the original site, on the territory of the municipality of Saint-Josse-ten-Noode. Designed by the architect François Coppens in neoclassical style, this second "North Station" (French: Gare du Nord, Dutch: Noordstation) was a single-storey railway complex that stretched in width from the Rue d'Aerschot/Aarschotstraat to the Rue du Progrès/Vooruitgangsstraat, and in length, from the Place Rogier to the Avenue de la Reine/Koninginnelaan (nowadays a tunnel). To connect the neighbourhoods on both sides of the railway, there were only two pedestrian bridges: one at the Place Rogier and the other at the Rue Dupont/Dupontstraat. It consisted of 27 tracks.

The Belgian railway network grew rapidly during the second half of the 19th century, becoming the densest in continental Europe. By then, Brussels-North and Brussels-South had become the primary railway stations in Brussels. However, they were joined only by an inadequate single track running along what is today the Small Ring (Brussels' inner ring road). Many proposals were put forward to link the two stations more substantially. A law was finally passed in 1909 mandating a direct connection; however, the final project would not be completed until nearly half a century later.

Current station (1952–present)

A new transit station, located a few hundred metres further north, was built in 1952. It was designed in post-war modernist style by architects Jacques and Paul Saintenoy, assisted by Jean Hendrickx Vanden Bosch. The construction of the North–South connection between 1910 and 1953 ensured a train connection between the new station and the South Station. During the construction of the North–South connection, the tracks were raised and several underpasses were added. The old station on the Place Rogier was razed in 1955. A bus station was built on its former site, and then in 1960, the Rogier International Centre, also called the Martini Tower, which was formerly the tallest building in Belgium, and which housed the National Theatre of Belgium until 1999. The building was demolished in 2001, and was replaced by the 137-metre-tall (449 ft) Rogier Tower. [4] A group of statues from the station's former façade were reconstructed at the Warandepark in Diest, Flemish Brabant, Belgium.

An extensive public transport complex, the North Communication Center (or CCN), was built on the western side of the North Station in the 1970s. As a result, the station building (on the side of the Boulevard Simon Bolivar/Simon Bolivarlaan) is now part of this larger complex. The CCN connects the bus stop of De Lijn and STIB/MIVB, as well as the premetro , with the railway station. In 1992, the Brussels-Capital Region decided to erect an Art Deco-inspired office building for its officials above the CCN. Due to the construction of this CCN and the large volume of the office building above it, the architectural appearance of the North Station with its iconic clock tower was diminished.

Renovation works started in May 2010. The ticket hall was the first to be renovated and completed in 2012. The renovation works have been systematically continued since then. The intention is, among other things, to install new escalators and lifts and for the Rue d'Aerschot to have a fully-fledged entrance. Unlike the South Station, which was largely remodelled for the arrival of international express trains, the North Station has kept most of its post-war materials and decorative elements, highlighted during this recent renovation. The station has also kept its original clock tower.

Rail lines

Brussels-North has 12 platforms. These passenger lines join in the station:

Few trains originate from Brussels-North. Instead, most trains through Brussels depart from Brussels-South, some from Schaarbeek.

A panorama of Gare du Nord /Noordstation premetro station, the platform for northbound trains to the left, southbound on the far right Noordstation1.jpg
A panorama of Gare du Nord/Noordstation premetro station, the platform for northbound trains to the left, southbound on the far right

Train services

ICE train at Brussels-North railway station Ice bruxelles.JPG
ICE train at Brussels-North railway station

The station is served by the following services: [5]

Preceding station Nederlandse spoorwegen logo.svg NS International Following station
Brussels National Airport
towards Amsterdam Centraal
Intercity Direct 9200 Brussels-Central
towards Brussels-South
Preceding station Deutsche Bahn AG-Logo.svg DB Fernverkehr Following station
Brussels-South
Terminus
 ICE 79 Liège-Guillemins
towards Frankfurt (Main) Hbf
Preceding station SNCB logo.svg NMBS/SNCB Following station
Brussels-Central
towards Oostende
IC 01 Leuven
towards Eupen
Brussels-Central
towards Blankenberge or Knokke
IC 03 Leuven
towards Genk
Mechelen
towards Antwerpen-Centraal
IC 05
weekdays
 Brussels-Central
towards Charleroi-Sud
Brussels-Central
towards Tournai
IC 06 Diegem
towards Brussels National Airport
Brussels-Central
towards Mons
IC 06A Brussels National Airport
Terminus
Brussels-Central
towards Binche
IC 11
weekdays
 Vilvoorde
towards Turnhout
Brussels-Central
towards Kortrijk
IC 12
weekdays
 Leuven
towards Welkenraedt
Brussels-Central
towards Quiévrain
IC 14
weekdays
 Leuven
towards Liège-Guillemins
Brussels-Central
towards Bruxelles-Midi / Brussel-Zuid
IC 16 Brussels-Schuman
towards Luxembourg
IC 17
weekends
 Brussels-Schuman
towards Dinant
IC 18
weekdays
 Brussels-Schuman
towards Liège-Saint-Lambert
Brussels-Central
towards Gent-Sint-Pieters
IC 20
weekdays, except holidays
 Aarschot
towards Tongeren
IC 20
weekends
 Jette
towards Lokeren
Vilvoorde
towards Essen
IC 22
weekdays, except holidays
 Brussels-Central
towards Bruxelles-Midi / Brussel-Zuid
Vilvoorde
towards Antwerpen-Centraal
IC 22
weekends
 Brussels-Central
towards Binche
Brussels-Central
towards Oostende
IC 23 Brussels National Airport
Terminus
Brussels-Central
towards Brugge
IC 23A
Brussels-Central
towards Kortrijk
IC 26
weekdays
 Jette
towards Sint-Niklaas
Brussels-Central
towards De Panne
IC 29 Brussels National Airport
towards Landen
Vilvoorde
towards Antwerpen-Centraal
IC 31
weekdays, except holidays
 Brussels-Central
towards Bruxelles-Midi / Brussel-Zuid
IC 31
weekends
 Brussels-Central
towards Charleroi-Sud
Schaarbeek
towards Antwerpen-Centraal
S 1
weekdays
 Brussels-Congress
towards Nivelles
Terminus S 1
weekends
Schaarbeek
towards Antwerpen-Centraal
Brussels-Central
towards Bruxelles-Midi / Brussel-Zuid
Schaarbeek
towards Leuven
S 2
Brussels-Central
towards Braine-le-Comte
Bockstael
towards Dendermonde
S 3
weekdays
 Brussels-Central
towards Oudenaarde
Schaarbeek
Terminus
 S 6
Brussels-Central
towards Aalst
Brussels-Schuman
towards Louvain-la-Neuve-Université
S 8
Brussels-Central
towards Bruxelles-Midi / Brussel-Zuid
Bockstael
towards Aalst
S 10
Brussels-Central
towards Dendermonde

See also

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References

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Officially Brussels-North (French: Bruxelles-Nord; Dutch: Brussel-Noord)

Citations

  1. ↑ News report re prostitution on Aarschotstraat/Rue d'Aerschot
  2. ↑ Wolmar 2010, p. 20.
  3. ↑ "Histoire en quelques mots — Français". molenbeek.irisnet.be. Retrieved 12 January 2017.
  4. ↑ "Dexia Tower, Brussels". SkyscraperPage. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
  5. ↑ Belgian railways timetable brochures in English Archived December 23, 2015, at the Wayback Machine

Bibliography

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