Railway Station
The railway station has six tracks, served by three island platforms. These are underground, beneath the city blocks within the "Boulevard de l'Impératrice/Keizerinlaan", "Rue de l'Infante Isabelle/Infante Isabella straat", "Kantersteen" and "Rue de la Putterie/Putterijstraat".
The main entrance and ticket office are at ground level on Keizerinlaan/Imperatrice, and there are several other entrances on the other streets. The station was renovated between 2004 and 2010 in an attempt to better equip the station to present levels of usage (which can reach 150,000 passengers/day on the busiest days). Two new entrances were created, and the main entrance was extensively renovated. The "Carrefour d'Europe," a pedestrianised square was created in front of the station. Plans are underway for the renovation of the tunnel which links the main station with the metro stop. It has been described as dilapidated, dirty, and permanently tinged by the smell of urine. An architectural firm had been retained in 2010 to implement the project designed to make the hallway a better "window" to Brussels for the many travellers who begin their journey there. Shops and a more luminous, graffiti resistant environment were planned, pending final planning approval.
Although Brussels' central station is at the very heart of the city, its capacity is not adapted to present usage levels (ca. 70,000 passengers on a weekday), let alone future levels. The interior and the platforms have been renovated in recent years, but the main problem (i.e. lack of capacity) has not fundamentally been addressed. There have been suggestions to expand the station, but none of them has gained widespread acceptance. Today at peak times about 96 trains an hour use the six platforms of the station. With passenger growth expected to average 4%/year in the coming decade, Infrabel, the administrator of the Belgian rail network, has determined that an expansion of the rail capacity and of the Central Station will be necessary. The CEO of Infrabel has estimated the cost of an adequate expansion at least a billion euros, and has said it will be necessary to complete the project by 2020. However, the task of getting all relevant authorities to agree on a plan has so far proved difficult. Some credit a general taboo against discussions of expanding the North-South rail axis after the extended delays and widespread destruction that initial construction entailed from 1911-1952.
| Preceding station | EuroCity | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bruxelles-Midi / Brussel-Zuid Terminus | Vauban | Brussels-North toward Chur | ||
| Iris | Brussels-North toward Zürich Hbf | |||
| Preceding station | NMBS | Following station | ||
| Bruxelles-Midi / Brussel-Zuid toward Oostende | IC A | Bruxelles-Nord / Brussel-Noord toward Eupen | ||
| Bruxelles-Midi / Brussel-Zuid Terminus | IC B IC "Benelux", soon to be Fyra | Mechelen toward Amsterdam Centraal | ||
| Bruxelles-Midi / Brussel-Zuid toward Blankenberge and Knokke | IC E | Bruxelles-Nord / Brussel-Noord From monday to friday, except holidays toward Tongeren | ||
| Bruxelles-Nord / Brussel-Noord On weekends and holidays toward Liège and Genk | ||||
| Bruxelles-Midi / Brussel-Zuid toward Quievrain | IC F | Bruxelles-Nord / Brussel-Noord toward Liège-Guillemins | ||
| Bruxelles-Midi / Brussel-Zuid toward Mouscron | IC H | Bruxelles-Nord / Brussel-Noord toward Schaarbeek | ||
| Bruxelles-Midi / Brussel-Zuid toward Charleroi-Sud | IC I | Bruxelles-Nord / Brussel-Noord toward Antwerpen-Centraal | ||
| Bruxelles-Midi / Brussel-Zuid Terminus | IC J IC "des Ardennes" & Luxembourg | Bruxelles-Nord / Brussel-Noord toward Luxembourg | ||
| Bruxelles-Midi / Brussel-Zuid toward Gent-Sint-Pieters | IC K | Bruxelles-Nord / Brussel-Noord toward Genk | ||
| Bruxelles-Midi / Brussel-Zuid toward Poperinge | IC L | Bruxelles-Nord / Brussel-Noord toward Sint-Niklaas | ||
| Bruxelles-Midi / Brussel-Zuid Terminus | IC M | Bruxelles-Nord / Brussel-Noord toward Dinant and Liers | ||
| Bruxelles-Midi / Brussel-Zuid toward Charleroi-Sud | IC N | Bruxelles-Nord / Brussel-Noord toward Essen (Belgium) | ||
| Bruxelles-Midi / Brussel-Zuid Terminus | IC O | Bruxelles-Nord / Brussel-Noord toward Visé | ||
| IC R | Bruxelles-Nord / Brussel-Noord toward Turnhout | |||
| Bruxelles-Midi / Brussel-Zuid toward Nivelles | IR b | Bruxelles-Nord / Brussel-Noord toward Antwerpen-Centraal | ||
| Bruxelles-Midi / Brussel-Zuid toward Courtrai and Grammont | IR d | |||
| Bruxelles-Midi / Brussel-Zuid toward Gent-Sint-Pieters | IR h | Bruxelles-Nord / Brussel-Noord toward Brussels National Airport | ||
| Bruxelles-Midi / Brussel-Zuid toward De Panne | IR i | Bruxelles-Nord / Brussel-Noord From monday to friday, except holidays toward Mechelen | ||
| Bruxelles-Nord / Brussel-Noord On weekends and holidays Terminus | ||||
| Bruxelles-Midi / Brussel-Zuid toward Quevy | IR j | Bruxelles-Nord / Brussel-Noord toward Brussels National Airport | ||
| Bruxelles-Midi / Brussel-Zuid toward Binche | IR l | Bruxelles-Nord / Brussel-Noord toward Louvain-la-Neuve-Université | ||
| Bruxelles-Midi / Brussel-Zuid Terminus | IR n | Bruxelles-Nord / Brussel-Noord toward Antwerpen-Centraal | ||
| IR o | Bruxelles-Nord / Brussel-Noord toward Leuven |
Read more about this topic: Brussels-Central Railway Station
Famous quotes containing the words railway and/or station:
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