Brussels-North railway station

Brussels-North (French: Bruxelles-Nord, Dutch: Brussel-Noord) is one of the three major railway stations in Brussels; the other two are Brussels Central and Brussels South. The station's bilingual French–Dutch name is generally translated to Brussels North. Every regular domestic and international train (except Thalys and Eurostar) passing there has a planned stop. The station has 200,000 passengers per week, mainly commuters.

Brussels-North
Railway Station
Location76 rue du Progrès/Vooruitgangstraat,
1030 Schaerbeek
Brussels
Coordinates50°51′36″N 4°21′42″E
Owned bySNCB/NMBS
Operated bySNCB/NMBS
Line(s)0, 25, 27, 36, 50, 161
Platforms12
Connections
  Line 3
  Line 4
Construction
ArchitectJacques and Paul Saintenoy
Architectural styleModernism
Other information
Station codeFBN
History
Opened1952
Brussels Premetro North-South Axis
Gare du Nord/Noordstation
Rogier
De Brouckère
Bourse/Beurs
Anneessens
Lemonnier
Gare du Midi/Zuidstation
Porte de Hal/ Hallepoort
Parvis de Saint-Gilles/Sint-Gillis Voorplein
Horta
Albert

Brussels North is the end point of the premetro (underground tram) North–South Axis and an important node of the Brussels Intercommunal Transport Company STIB/MIVB and 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, with several corporation headquarters such as Belgacom Towers, Rogier Tower and others, government offices and Flemish ministries. Right next to the station is Aarschot Street, an area of prostitution "behind windows".[1]

History

First and second stations (1835–1952)

The very first station in Brussels was the Allée Verte/Groendreef Station near the site of the current Yser/IJzer metro station, where on 5 May 1835, the first passenger train on a public railway in continental Europe departed.[2][3] This station was replaced in March 1846 by the Brussels-North station, designed by architect François Coppens and situated on Charles Rogier Square. It consisted of 27 tracks.

  • The old station's interior, 1884
  • The old station on Place Charles Rogier, c. 1910

Third station (1952–present)

In 1952, a new transit station, located a few hundred metres further north, was built. It was designed in 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. The old station on Rogier Square was razed in 1955. A group of statues from the former facade were reconstructed at the Warandepark in Diest.

Unlike the South Station, which was largely remodeled for the arrival of international express trains, the North Station has kept most of its post-war materials and decorative elements, highlighted during a 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 the premetro station, the platform for north-bound trains to the left, south-bound on the far right

Train services

The station is served by the following services:[4]

  • High speed services (ICE) Brussels - Liege - Cologne - Frankfurt
  • Intercity services (IC-35) Amsterdam - The Hague - Rotterdam - Roosendaal - Antwerp - Brussels Airport - Brussels
  • Intercity services (IC-16) Brussels - Namur - Arlon - Luxembourg
  • Intercity services (IC-01) Ostend - Bruges - Gent - Brussels - Leuven - Liege - Welkenraedt - Eupen
  • Intercity services (IC-03) Knokke/Blankenberge - Bruges - Gent - Brussels - Leuven - Hasselt - Genk
  • Intercity services (IC-05) Antwerp - Mechelen - Brussels - Nivelles - Charleroi (weekdays)
  • Intercity services (IC-06) Tournai - Ath - Halle - Brussels - Brussels Airport
  • Intercity services (IC-06A) Mons - Braine-le-Comte - Brussels - Brussels Airport
  • Intercity services (IC-11) Binche - Braine-le-Comte - Halle - Brussels - Mechelen - Turnhout (weekdays)
  • Intercity services (IC-12) Kortrijk - Gent - Brussels - Leuven - Liege - Welkenraedt (weekdays)
  • Intercity services (IC-14) Quiévrain - Mons - Braine-le-Comte - Brussels - Leuven - Liege (weekdays)
  • Intercity services (IC-17) Brussels - Namur - Dinant (weekends)
  • Intercity services (IC-18) Brussels - Namur - Liege (weekdays)
  • Intercity services (IC-20) Gent - Aalst - Brussels - Hasselt - Tongeren (weekdays)
  • Intercity services (IC-20) Gent - Aalst - Brussels - Dendermonde - Lokeren (weekends)
  • Intercity services (IC-22) Essen - Antwerp - Mechelen - Brussels (weekdays)
  • Intercity services (IC-22) Antwerp - Mechelen - Brussels - Halle - Braine-le-Comte - Binche (weekends)
  • Intercity services (IC-23) Ostend - Bruges - Kortrijk - Zottegem - Brussels - Brussels Airport
  • Intercity services (IC-23A) Bruges - Gent - Brussels - Brussels Airport (weekdays)
  • Intercity services (IC-23A) Gent - Brussels - Brussels Airport (weekends)
  • Intercity services (IC-26) Kortrijk - Tournai - Halle - Brussels - Dendermonde - Lokeren - Sint Niklaas (weekdays)
  • Intercity services (IC-29) De Panne - Gent - Aalst - Brussels - Brussels Airport - Leuven - Landen
  • Intercity services (IC-31) Antwerp - Mechelen - Brussels (weekdays)
  • Intercity services (IC-31) Antwerp - Mechelen - Brussels - Nivelles - Charleroi (weekends)
  • Brussels RER services (S1) Antwerp - Mechelen - Brussels - Waterloo - Nivelles (weekdays)
  • Brussels RER services (S1) Antwerp - Mechelen - Brussels (weekends)
  • Brussels RER services (S1) Brussels - Waterloo - Nivelles (weekends)
  • Brussels RER services (S2) Leuven - Brussels - Halle - Braine-le-Comte
  • Brussels RER services (S3) Dendermonde - Brussels - Denderleeuw - Zottegem - Oudenaarde (weekdays)
  • Brussels RER services (S6) Aalst - Denderleeuw - Geraardsbergen - Halle - Brussels - Schaarbeek
  • Brussels RER services (S8) Brussels - Etterbeek - Ottignies - Louvain-le-Neuve
  • Brussels RER services (S10) Dendermonde - Brussels - Denderleeuw - Aalst
Preceding station   Deutsche Bahn   Following station
Brussels-South
ICE 79
Liège-Guillemins
towards Frankfurt
Preceding station   NMBS/SNCB   Following station
toward Amsterdam Centraal
Intercity Direct 9200
Brussels-Central
Brussels-Central
toward Oostende
IC 01
toward Eupen
Brussels-Central
toward Blankenberge and Knokke
IC 03
toward Genk
IC 05
weekdays
Brussels-Central
toward Charleroi-Sud
Brussels-Central
toward Tournai
IC 06
Diegem
Brussels-Central
toward Mons
IC 06A
Terminus
Brussels-Central
toward Binche
IC 11
weekdays
toward Turnhout
Brussels-Central
toward Kortrijk
IC 12
weekdays
toward Welkenraedt
Brussels-Central
toward Quiévrain
IC 14
weekdays
Brussels-Central
IC 16
Brussels-Schuman
toward Luxembourg
Brussels-Central
IC 17
weekends
Brussels-Schuman
toward Dinant
Brussels-Central
IC 18
weekdays
Brussels-Schuman
toward Liège-Palais
Brussels-Central
From Monday to Friday, except holidays
IC 20
From Monday to Friday, except holidays
toward Tongeren
Brussels-Central
On weekends and holidays
On weekends and holidays
toward Lokeren
From Monday to Friday, except holidays
toward Essen
IC 22
Brussels-Central
From Monday to Friday, except holidays
On weekends and holidays
Brussels-Central
On weekends and holidays
toward Binche
Brussels-Central
toward Oostende
IC 23
Terminus
Brussels-Central
toward Brugge
IC 23A
Brussels-Central
toward Kortrijk
IC 26
weekdays
toward Sint-Niklaas
Brussels-Central
toward De Panne
IC 29
toward Landen
From Monday to Friday, except holidays
IC 31
Brussels-Central
From Monday to Friday, except holidays
On weekends and holidays
Brussels-Central
On weekends and holidays
toward Charleroi-Sud
S 1
weekdays
toward Nivelles
TerminusS 1
weekends
S 1
weekends
Brussels-Central
toward Leuven
S 2
Brussels-Central
toward Dendermonde
S 3
weekdays
Brussels-Central
toward Oudenaarde
Terminus
S 6
Brussels-Central
toward Denderleeuw
Brussels-Schuman
toward Louvain-la-Neuve-Université
S 8
Brussels-Central
toward Aalst
S 10
Brussels-Central
toward Dendermonde

References
  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 2017-01-12.
  4. Belgian railways timetable brochures in English Archived December 23, 2015, at the Wayback Machine

Bibliography
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