History
For a long time Gare du Nord and Gare du Midi were the primary railway stations in Brussels (Brussels North slowly supplanted the original Allée Verte Station near the same site). However, they were joined only by an inadequate single track running along what is today the route of the Brussels inner ring road. Many proposals were put forward to link the two stations more substantially, but it was not until just before the First World War that a law was passed mandating a direct connection. The Putterie district was razed to make way for the connection, and work was then halted by the war. Financial constraints limited work after the war, and in 1927 the government suspended the project altogether. In 1935 a new office dedicated to the project was set up and work resumed. The Central Station was planned as a hub in the connection. However, the Second World War slowed construction again. The interruptions and delays to construction left large areas filled with debris and craters for decades. The station was finally completed in October 1952 based on a modified design by Victor Horta.
Read more about this topic: Brussels-Central Railway Station
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